


There's Always A Choice

by StoriesbyJ



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Brat!Beth, Did I create another story after I promised myself to finish this one or Alone before publishing, F/M, I shouldn't have posted this, Multi, SugarBaby!Beth, Sugardaddy!Rio, YOLO, yes - Freeform, yes i did
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27204145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoriesbyJ/pseuds/StoriesbyJ
Summary: No Summary..... No plot.... Just an Idea that I loved.So, this is the fault of @Wakeupflawless, She made a post about Sugar Daddy Rio and Brat Beth........ and I couldn't get this out of my head (And I've been writing this since August) and against better judgement, I am going to post this, and hide.So if you want Sugar Daddy Rio and Sugar Baby Beth/ Brat Beth.....CLICK HERE.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Dean Boland, Beth Boland/Rio, Beth Boland/Ruby Hill/Annie Marks, Dylan/Rio (Good Girls), Greg - Relationship, Gregg/Annie Marks, Marcus & Rio (Good Girls), Rhea/Rio (Good Girls)
Comments: 89
Kudos: 211





	1. The Break-Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wakeupflawless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakeupflawless/gifts).



This is Sarah's fault... blame her not me. Her [Initial Post](https://wakeupflawless.tumblr.com/post/625393059128098816/how-much-of-my-money-did-this-set-you-back) & and then [her Money Post ](https://wakeupflawless.tumblr.com/post/625392658132631553/briosgina-good-girls-appreciation-week-day-2-all)

* * *

**Six years. She gave him six years of her youth. Of her love. Her happiness. And what did he do in return? Nothing. **  
  
_Well, not exactly, **nothing**. _  


He paid for any and everything she needed. Well, scratch that, any and everything she wanted. Including that new 2020 Mercedes G- Wagon she’s been driving. Paid for school, her apartment, clothes, shoes, bags, any vacation she wanted. Private planes. Designer everything. Caviar, champagne; her haircut that was a thousand dollars, along with her weekly $400 mani/pedi. . The personal chef, the personal trainer, the make up artist and stylist. 

Anything you could think of. He paid for it. He gave her everything from the moment that they met. Honestly, she thought he was the perfect package...and he is. 

Rich. Handsome. Charming. The most amazing sex she’s ever had. Rich. Dominate. Funny. Rich. Had to say it three times, because he is just that rich. But he has way too much baggage to even handle, after being in a relationship for as long as they had. She fell in love with him way too easily, not for the things he could do for her, but because of the person he was. She thought, eventually, he would give her what she wanted the most. His heart.

  
  
**Except, here she is, 27 years old, six years later, after having no job. Being a washed-up sugar baby. Living in an apartment with her younger sister, Annie, and her seven year old son, Ben. Whining about the man she loves… no.** _Loved._ **No**. _**Loves**_. 

_She still loves him._  


But she had to show him that she had a life before him. She could make it without him,his fancy shit and black card. Moved out of their penthouse apartment, taking all of her belongings, or at least what could fit in Annie’s car. Leaving him, she returned the keys to the G-Wagon, and the apartment, blocked his numbers from her phone and left everything behind.

She could survive. Not Could. She WOULD survive even if it took everything out of her. She would be okay without him. 

If Christopher Dominguez wasn’t going to give her the one thing she wanted, she was going to show him how to live without her. 

Let’s get one thing straight. **Elizabeth Marks doesn’t need a man, now or ever.**

"A- Annie." Beth hiccuped to her sister. Putting the glass to her mouth, she sighed, while Annie waited for her to speak. How many glasses of this did she have? She shrugged to herself, chugged the rest, and poured herself another hefty serving. 

"Mark this day down Annie!" She screeched, toasting her glass in the air. 

"From this day forward, August 3rd, 2019.-" she tried to speak but Annie cut her off.

"Beth, it's _August 4th_." 

Beth rolled her eyes, "Well mark down August 4th." She sneered, but Annie smirked and fanned her hand in order for Beth to continue.

"From this day forward, I am going to be independent. I did it before, and I’ll do it again, damn it. If I could leave Dean for cheating, I can leave h-him for-" She stopped talking, she wasn't really sure why she left after this many drinks. 

She was mad, livid. But it didn’t help that she was head over heels for the jerk. 

“How about we stop with the drinks.” Annie chuckled, watching Beth rant on and on about her ex-boyfriend

“N- No.” Beth hiccuped, covering her mouth as she did it, spilling the bourbon, making it slosh all over her hand and Annie’s Fine and Frugal rug. Yes, unfortunately they sold that ugly ass shit. 

Calming herself down from the hiccups and fits of giggles. “But did I- I tell you that I g-gave him six years!” 

Annie rolled her eyes, “Six years. No commitment. No Ring. No kids. Nothing. I know, Beth.” 

“Hell, Dean would’ve given me that! And he was poor.” Beth pouted, looking into her glass. 

Annie started laughing this time, and just said this, “He did cheat on you. Sis, he cheated on his first wife. We’ll see how his second marriage ends.” 

Yet, Beth didn’t care. “Who’s to say that R- he, wouldn’t cheat on me.” Beth looked over at Annie with glassy eyes, half open, but she could still see the sadness that was on her face. 

Annie probably viewed Beth as pathetic. People would have killed to have the life she had, and she left it, because he simply didn’t love her.

“He wouldn’t do that to you. Even if you don’t believe it, he loved you.” Annie spoke softly to her sister. 

“Yeah, well. He never said it.” Beth mumbled, she felt the tears coming, and did everything in her power to stop them, including looking out the living room window, at the rain. 

Soon enough, her drooping eyelids closed, and Annie covered her with a blanket, took away the bourbon, and let her sister sleep. 

If anything, Annie knew that Rio wouldn’t be too far from her sister. He’d be there in the morning to take her home, with a new expensive present, but she wasn’t sure Beth would go like she would’ve in the past. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And guess who accepted to be my Beta!!! SARAH DID! Thank you so so much!! ❤️❤️❤️ I truly loved our banter about this on Tumblr.... basically me bullying Sarah to write it... then I wrote it 😂😂😂😂 but Sarah is awesome! Please go check out her fics too! 😘😘
> 
> My plan is to update this every week.... potentially either on Saturdays or Fridays..... maybe Sundays idk. I haven't decided yet, but this story is more planned out and written more than my other 2 fics... so YAY!!! WEEKLY UPDATES!!!! (I also, just might bi-weekly update Alone and F&D too.) 
> 
> Now I hide 😊


	2. Intrigue

If anything, on a Saturday night, twenty-one year old Elizabeth Marks would prefer to be sitting on the couch, a glass of red wine in hand, with her best friend Ruby Johnson, watching any form of trashy reality tv. But living the life that she lived, nothing was ever that easy. 

Beth had two jobs and went to school part time. She didn’t have a Mom or a Dad to support her, or to hand everything to her. If she wanted something, she had to work hard for it, been that way since she was thirteen and her father walked out on their family. Leaving Beth, her mother Ellen, and her younger sister Annie. 

Once her father left, her mother slowly deteriorated into nothing, drinking herself into stupors. So much so Beth would have to hide the keys from her while she took care of her mom, herself, and eight year old Annie. Beth had been taking care of them since the day her father left, and until her mother died when she was nineteen, and Annie was thirteen. 

By that time, she was in college for a year, and she was trying her best to hold it together, but it only seemed to get worse. Not even a full two years later, Annie at fifteen years old became pregnant by her high school sweetheart, and now Beth had to take care of that too. 

And this is why Beth is at her job as a bartender for the night, instead of watching trashy reality tv, with her best friend. She’s working a private party at Luxe in downtown Detroit. This was her night job, and during the day she worked as an assistant bank manager. She needed the money, and private parties at Luxe were a sure way to get quick cash, in case you needed it, and Beth definitely needed it. Between her own schooling, Annie's doctor's appointments, rent, utilities, the car insurance, food, baby supplies. She needed a lot of money and fast.

“So, Beth, what are your plans on your day off tomorrow?” Nicole, one of the other bartenders at Luxe, asked. Beth didn’t have many friends here, she was new and only worked for about three months before people started to even remember her name. 

She shrugged, while cleaning glasses they’d gotten back from patrons, the club wasn’t too busy tonight. The party was by invite only, so they had a few stragglers that came early. “I have an opening shift at the bank tomorrow, and I have three papers due this week, so that’s what my plans are.” They had time to talk to one another. It was only Beth and four other bartenders tonight.

“Girl, when do you ever sleep? We get off around 4 am every night.” Aria said while playing with her gum, wrapping it around her finger. 

“I don’t. I have things to do, and bills to pay. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Again, she shrugged. Unfortunately, that was the reality of her life.

Before either of the girls could speak, the head bartender, a man named David, came over to get their attention. 

“Ladies. We got a bunch of Fifty Shades here tonight.” He smirked, making Nicole and Aria laugh. Both Nicole and Aria fixed up their cleavage and tousled their hair, looking into the mirror behind the bar. But once they all saw Beth’s confused look, they paused. 

“Honey, if you want those tips, you better do something about that hair.” Dave playfully nudged her, giggling along with the other two. 

“What is Fifty Shades?” Beth asked, looking in the mirror at her hair. It was in a high pony. There was nothing wrong with it, she thought. 

Aria rolled her eyes, popped her gum, and turned Beth to face a section of the club. It was one of the VIP sections that she’d seen high rollers come and go from. But tonight, it was all of the high rollers with girls around her age. 

Speaking over her shoulder, “I forget just how new you are, Beth. Fifty Shades stands for Fifty Shades of Grey. You know, like the book?” Beth nodded, she knew the book and she knew it well. It was one of her favorites, just for reading. Or in some cases, for her own private fantasies.

Turning back around to face her co-workers, “Yeah, did you know that Fifty Shades of Grey, actually started out as a Twilight Fan fiction, but was too graphic so E.L. James took it down.” 

Her co-workers looked at her like she had three heads: 

“Oh, honey.” Dave laughed, putting his head in his hands. 

“What’s a fanfiction?” Aria asked, cocking her head to the side.

“You read fanfiction?” Nicole asked, arching an eyebrow, smirking.

All three responses made Beth turn bright red, she could feel the heat coming off of her cheeks. 

Dave rolled his eyes, “Anyways, in the book, Christian is like Ana’s sugar daddy. That whole section is filled with them. Ones who are looking, ones who already have one and are happy, and the ones who replace their babies so fast they don’t even remember their names.” Dave waved his hand in a dismissive way. 

“If you want the big tips, you need to make the men see you.” Aria said pushing up her own tits, laughing. 

“But won’t that make the girls they’re with mad?” Beth asked. If they were anything like the story of Fifty Shades, someone would get jealous. Hell, Beth wouldn’t want a bartender shoving her tits in her man’s face. That's what caused her last break up, him not being able to keep it in his pants, and his wandering eyes.

“Beth, you’re so innocent, it’s cute.” Nicole chuckled, as she received an order.

“Who cares? It’s not the babies that are paying you. It’s the men who are. Make them happy. Big tips. Especially for the party tonight.” Aria smiled, throwing an arm around her shoulder. 

“The last time Rio threw a party here, I got fifteen-hundred dollars in tips! Alone!” Nicole commented, serving a vodka cranberry to one of the waitresses. Shit, that was Beth’s whole paycheck from working a whole pay period at the bank. 

“Plus, we get paid three times the amount hourly when it’s one of his private parties.” Dave spoke, while attending to inventory under the actual bar. 

Beth had heard this name, Rio, before, she never saw what he looked like or even knew who he was, but apparently he was one of the high rollers that frequented the club. Since Beth started here, she would hear the stories from all the different bartenders and waitresses, of girls and boys alike, who came in contact with him. But they all had something in common, they wanted a piece of him. 

“Yeah, and he’s Mick’s best friend, so you know, if he’s having a party he’s throwing it here.” Nicole said. Mick was the owner of Luxe, he was a nice guy and gave Beth a chance, so she really liked him. 

By this time, the club was getting fuller and fuller, and they had to get back to work,

“So, why is he throwing a party?” She asked Dave, as he was the closest to her. Nicole and Aria had made their way up to the VIP Bar Back on the other side of the club.. 

“You’ve never met Rio, have you?” He inquired, not really paying attention. I mean, they were on the job, and he was doing his job,Making sure they had enough materials for this party. 

She shook her head, “Never had the pleasure.” 

He slightly laughed, “Rio is something. He’s great looking, rich and some might even say dangerous. He’s a nice guy, but don’t let the smile fool you.” 

Beth nodded her head trying to understand where he was going, and how this correlated to him throwing a party. 

Once Dave saw her confused look, he rolled his eyes and fully turned to look at her, 

“It’s his sugar baby’s thirtieth birthday. He’s thirty-six, and they’ve been together for about almost ten years now. Be lucky you haven’t met Rio, because then you would have to meet Dylan.” 

That confused her even more. But Ricki, a waitress overheard their conversation, leaning over the bar.

“Dylan’s the worst. She used to work here, when Mick first opened up, and within six months of working here, she caught the biggest fish. She’s a complete brat, thinks she’s better than us, when she started here, just like a lot of us.” Ricki shook her head annoyed, and gave Beth an order to give the kitchen as well. 

She started to put the order in for Ricki, when Dave spoke again. 

“Yeah, she doesn’t allow any girl near him at all, especially after Rhea.” He laughed, 

“Hell, I wouldn’t either, but she got a few Birkin bags after that, and a brand new lambo truck, after he bought her a Mercedes.” Ricki countered, and the look Dave gave her, said Touché, 

Beth was about to ask who Rhea was, but Mick came over, “I pay y’all to serve people, not sit back here and gossip all night.” He tried to play mean, but the smile on his face said otherwise. 

Ricki put her head on their bosses shoulder, “Oh Michael, we are just informing Beth about our guests of honor tonight.” This made Mick just shake his head, already knowing the gossip surrounding his best friend. 

“Just do your job, and it’ll be fine. But they’re coming in soon, so speed up service, yeah?” He said, looking at them all, but then the whole club erupted into claps and cheers as someone came in. Mick tapped the bar, and went over to the door. The club DJ came on the mic and told everyone in the place to scream, “Happy Birthday Dylan!”

In which they all did. 

“Here comes the bougie princess now.” Dave sneered rolling his eyes, which made Ricki reach over the bar and slap his arm. 

“Be nice, you used to be her best friend.” Ricki laughed, making Dave frown. 

“Yeah, used to be.” He mumbled, going back into the kitchen, leaving Beth alone behind the bar. 

She watched as a pathway cleared and Rio and Dylan walked through.

Dylan was short, very pretty and petite, glowing smile and gorgeous black hair. Then she saw Mick walk up to the girl, whisper something in her ear, and she kissed the guy next to her. Beth assumed it was Rio. Dylan then ran up to the VIP section, where all the girls waiting for her, started to squeal. 

The noise from the gaggle of ladies somehow carried over the loud music and made Beth cringe slightly on the inside. It was comparable to the sound of nails on a chalkboard. But her attention quickly went back to Mick and Rio. He was tall, very lean, very handsome and had a smile to die for. Beth never thought tattoos were sexy, until she saw the one on his throat. It fit him, really. 

“You should stop staring.” Nicole whispered in Beth’s ear, making hers jump, and Nicole started laughing. She tried to tuck a hair behind her ear, but her hair was in a pony. Nervous habits die hard. 

“I know that look.” Nicole accused, pointing to her face, 

Beth rolled her eyes, “What look?” 

“The same look we all had when we first walked in here, and saw him.” She countered back, shaking her head, 

Beth scoffed, “I don’t have a look.” Obviously trying to avoid the conversation, and actually do her job. 

“Mhm. Okay.” Nicole smirked, walking away. 

Beth looked out of the corner of her eye and no one was with her behind the bar. So she took a deep breath, and continued to do the job she was hired to do. 

* * *

As the party ended, Mick assigned Beth and Aria to clean up. But Aria was nowhere to be found, so of course that left Beth to clean. 

Tonight was different from any other night that she’d encountered at Luxe. She overheard two fights between one of the sugar babies and Ricki, and another consisted of Dylan arguing with another girl and pouting. Another fight broke out, and the bouncers had to break that up. 

But regardless, Nicole was right, Beth had made a little over two grand, just in tips. She could pay her rent early and buy groceries for herself and Annie, with some left over for savings. 

Finally cleaning off the bar, as well as the rest of the glasses, she basically cleaned the whole thing by herself. Went off to find Aria, but someone called her attention. 

“Hey, can I get a vodka neat?” Her back was to him, but she could see him in the mirror. 

She turned around, grabbing the materials and gave it to him. Rio. 

She smiled when he said a polite thank you, and went back to try to find Aria, but he stopped her again. 

“What’s your name? You must be new, never seen you before.” He spoke lowly, eyeing her while taking a sip of the drink she just poured. 

She cleared her throat, “Beth.” But it still came out kind of weak. She cleared her throat again, this time with more force, “My name is Beth.” 

“Beth.” He spoke, but it seemed as if he was trying to get used to the name. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Rio.” He stuck his hand out for her to shake, and she shook it. 

Letting his hand go, she actually took a good look at him. He honestly didn't seem what everyone was saying about him. Or his girlfriend. He looked like he owned a bar, not renting it out and buying expensive gifts. He had on a button up - in this lighting, it was hard to see the color - and assuming jeans to match. He sat at the bar, so she couldn't see his shoes. On his hands were rings and bracelets on his wrists, as well as a watch. 

Well, that watch proved he had money. A limited Edition Rolex, similar to the one she has from her dad. She noticed that he even had a small stud in his nose. 

Realizing that she was staring at him, she blushed, and busied herself with cleaning and trying not to be rude, “Did you enjoy the party?” 

He slightly chuckled, and smirked, before finishing his drink, “Nah, not my style. But I paid for it, so.” Setting the glass on the bar, 

Beth gave him a sad smile, “Well, long as your girlfriend is happy, right?” 

That made him smirk again, “You think she’s my girlfriend?” Cocking an eyebrow, and tilting his head. 

“Babe, there you are. I’m read-“ Dylan spoke, coming from the back from the bathrooms, but stopped once she saw Rio talking to Beth. 

"Ready to go?" Rio turned to her, but Dylan stayed focused on Beth, squinting her eyes. 

Once no one said anything for a few beats, Beth quickly jumped in. 

"Um, Dylan, right? Happy Birthday. I hope you had a great time tonight." She smiled, trying to make this awkward encounter go away. 

Dylan somewhat smiled, and walked up to the bar, right next to where Rio stood. Beth could tell she was anything but nice. Dylan strategically placed a hand on his shoulder and a hand on his abs, kind of cuddling him. 

"Yes, it is Dylan," she referred to Beth, "It seems that you're new here. So I'm going to only say this once. Stay the hell away from him." Gesturing to Rio, all he did was sit there and watch their interaction, allowing Dylan to feel him up. 

"Well, he did approach the bar, to get a drink. Do you suppose I ignore the guest of honor and not do my job?" Beth smiled in defiance. 

Dylan rolled her eyes at Beth, and turned to give Rio the sloppiest kiss of all. In all honesty, it was kind of nasty, especially doing it in public. 

Once they released from the kiss, she slightly growled, "C'mon Daddy, take me home. I want you inside of me, not talking to lonely ass bartenders."She said, making sure that Beth could hear her words. 

"Yeah, let's go." He kissed the top of Dylan's head and grabbed her hand, leading her away from the bar. 

"Happy Birthday again!" Beth called out, only for Dylan to turn around. 

"Fuck off." She called back. 

* * *

"Ruby you should've heard this girl. She was nasty and mean." Beth rolled her eyes, while making sure dinner was cooking correctly in the oven. 

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, while playing with the ends of her hair. 

"She was just rude. Like I'm being nice to her, and because she's insecure, she basically attacked me for doing my job." She responded, going to the fridge to get out the appetizers she made last night before her shift. 

Unfortunately, half of the deviled eggs were missing. Sighing, _God Annie_. She literally ate everything in sight even after Beth specifically not to eat them before she left. 

"Who are you talking about? I mean if they had a party like how you were saying, they have to be somewhat important." Ruby replied, actually paying attention to Beth's rant now. 

Putting the plate on the counter, Beth grimaces. "I don't know. The girl's name was Dylan and the guy's name was Rio." 

Ruby stared at Beth, who was confused as to why her face was in shock. 

"You mean, Dylan Moretti?" 

Beth furrowed her eyebrows, "I don't know her last name, Rube." 

Ruby rolled her eyes, and took out her phone, looking for something. 

"Dylan Moretti, she's on the new reality tv show called Baller and it's really good actually." 

"She's on the TV show because she's a sugar baby?" Beth laughed slightly, reaching for the phone that Ruby just gave her. 

It was Dylan's Instagram, and it was definitely her. @Bougieprincess. That must've been the joke that Dave said when they first walked in the club. What kind of Instagram name was that?

"No, she's like an Instagram model, has a Youtube and all of that. At first she kept the identity of her sugar daddy hidden. But a few years ago, she made a Youtube exposing him and it went viral." 

Handing Ruby back her phone, she just shook her head, listening to Ruby talk about the ideals and livelihood of Dylan and how she was so perfect. That girl was anything but perfect. 

As they were talking, the front door slammed open, a very pregnant Annie waddling through the door. 

"Aww, Annie, you've gotten bigger!!" Ruby cooed, about to touch Annie's stomach, but Annie slapped away her hands. 

"I love you Ruby, I do. But Greg's family just spent three hours touching all over my stomach, and it took everything in me not to hit them." She grumbled, throwing her purse on the couch and sitting down. 

"I thought you had to work today?" Beth called out to the living room. 

Annie huffed, "I did, but Greg called me and begged me to call off of work. His parents and family wanted to see me. I went, and apparently it was a stupid ass baby shower." 

Beth froze, the Hathaways had a baby shower for Annie, but she’d talked to Greg's mom about having a baby shower for her sister. 

She turned around, "They gave you a baby shower?" 

Annie huffed again, "Yes! All the gifts cost more than our rent. None of my friends or family were there. Just annoying rich people touching me. Then his mom made a comment like ' _isn't this better than some throw down at the community rec center?'_ Like what the hell is that supposed to mean?" She waved her hands angrily in the air. 

"I wanted to throw you a baby shower at the community rec center, we talked about it." Beth mumbled, and busied herself in the kitchen. She was embarrassed, the only place she could afford was the rec center. If anything, Ruby's mom would cater, Beth would decorate and make the cake. Something that said Annie and her kid. It was all planned out for two weekends from now. She wanted to surprise her sister.

As Annie struggled to get off the couch to see her sister, Ruby looked at her. 

"B, are you okay?" 

Shaking her head, and laughing the way she does when she's anything but okay, 

"I'm fine. It sucks you had a bad time, Annie. I'm sorry about that." Beth smiled, but Annie and Ruby could see through that. 

"That bitch. I swear to God, all she does is throw money around like she's better than everyone. Greg goes to the same high school I go to. Public school. So what's the big deal?" Annie ranted, while rubbing her stomach, coming over to the kitchen counter where Ruby sat. Ruby looked at Annie, pouting, and Annie rolled her eyes, nodding her head and allowed Ruby to play with her stomach while the baby kicked.

Beth took a breath, and pushed it out hard, still smiling "It's fine. I’ll cancel my shower, I guess, since you have everything for the baby." 

"Beth, we can still have it. I would love anything you did for me."Annie said, concerned. She loved her sister, and Beth was definitely a control freak, always was and always would be. But it hurt that her sister wasn't at the shower with her, while Greg got all the congratulations from his family. Annie felt like the odd ball out. 

When his mother made the comment about the rec center, Annie instantly thought she'd rather prefer that than this Sunday brunch with the high society of Detroit. It was all white, frilly and disgusting. Something that Annie, nor Beth, grew up with. But now, she knew the backhandedness that his mother caused and she was ready to back hand her at 8 months pregnant. 

Beth shook her head, "It's fine Annie, I promise." She smiled, and excused herself, going to her room to figure out her emotions. 

She was angry at Mrs. Hathaway for doing something so sneaky and dirty, but what did she expect? When Beth and Annie first met Greg's parents, his mother thought that Beth was Annie's mother, and said "Teenage pregnancy must run in the family." Beth had to hold back Annie from smacking her then. 

Do all rich people act like this simply because they have money? If so, she never wanted to be rich, because that shit is for the birds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No notes really. I think that I will update on Saturdays, Maybe even Sundays..... but my weekend this past week has been so busy... but chapter 3 coming soon.... meaning I need to plan ahead and write put these chapters lmfaoooo. Thank you for all the love and appreciation babies!!!!


	3. Love You, Always

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting a day early because I have no self control and I’m bored 😂

It had been about two weeks since Beth last worked at Luxe. To be honest, she was thankful that Mick called her in, but now she was working the busy rush of the night and all she wanted to do was crash. 

Thank God someone would be relieving her within the next couple of minutes, because if she wanted to do anything tomorrow for Annie's baby shower she needed sleep. The girls eventually had talked Beth into throwing the party she worked so hard on, even if it wasn't a surprise. Plus, Beth was the only one to know the gender of the baby, and not knowing so close to the due date was driving Annie up a wall. 

"Hey, can I get a vodka neat and a rum and coke?" Mick asked standing in front of the bar. 

Beth nodded, "You got it boss." She smiled. 

Even though Beth hadn't been at this job long, she loved her boss. Mick was extremely nice and funny. Literally the best boss she could have asked for. 

She fixed the drinks, and handed them to him. "I'm on the schedule next week, right?" 

He simply nodded, "Yeah, sorry about the mix up with scheduling. But it's all straightened out now." He grabbed the drinks and walked away. 

Fixing up and counting tabs for the rest of her customers, she saw Aria and Nicole come up to the bar to relieve her. 

"Beth, you still work here?" Aria asked, making Nicole nudge her. 

Beth slightly puzzled, "Why wouldn't I work here still?" 

Nicole rolled her eyes at Aria, who just shrugged an apology and went to help new customers. 

"I mean, everyone heard about the interaction you had with Dylan and Rio. Generally, when shit like that happens, Rio makes Mick fire the person." 

Beth, still puzzled, asks, "Why would he fire me? She was rude to me, and why does Rio have that much say in his best friend's bar?" 

Nicole sighed, "Sweetie, you still don't get it. Rio and Mick aren't only best friends, they're business partners. They both own Luxe and majority of the lofts and bars downtown. Rio wants you out, then he wants you out." 

Slightly distressed, and panicked, Beth’s mind whirled, she couldn't lose this job. Annie was due and they needed all the money they could get. 

"It wasn't that big of a deal!" 

"I mean, usually they don't call people back, but they called you back. So it's nothing to worry about, Beth." Aria said, dismissing her while Nicole helped pick up the other side of the bar. 

All Beth could do was blink, that bitch almost got her fired because SHE was insecure. It made a shiver run down her back, and all she saw was red. 

Next thing you know, she's marching over to the office that’s on the third floor of the club. Mick's office gave a full panoramic view of the club, including both floors. She didn't even bother knocking, knowing Mick was up there already. 

"What the hell are they talking about Mic-" She started when she burst into the office, but stopped once she noticed her problem was sitting right there. 

_ Rio.  _

Of course, the Vodka Neat that Mick ordered. She could slap herself in the face, but she had to stand her ground. 

"What are they talking about Mick?" She started again, this time keeping her voice level. 

"Who said what now?" Mick asked, chuckling slightly and taking a sip of his own drink, leaning back in his chair behind his desk. . 

"Aria and Nicole said that I was fired?!" She screeched, unable to help herself, and pointed down to the bar.

Mick just sighed, and Rio just sat there, watching their interaction, just like he did with Dylan. 

"They don't know what they are talking about. Clearly. Did you not just work a shift?" He countered. 

"'You get into an encounter with Dylan and she tells Rio and he tells Mick to fire you. If Rio wants you gone, then you're gone.' Is what they said. How many bartenders or anyone have you kicked to the curb because his bitch is insecure." She sassed, repeating their words to Mick, not even addressing Rio or the fact that he is in the room. 

Rio had the audacity to laugh, like actually chuckle, and smile at Beth. It irritated her even more. 

"Darlin', If I wanted you gone, you'd be gone. Don’t be disrespectful to the person who signs your paycheck." He drawled, very amused by her red face and anger. 

It made her scoff, "What I find disrespectful, is the fact that your girlfriend.-" 

Smirking, he interrupted her, "She's not my girlfriend." 

Beth rolled her eyes, continuing, "Girlfriend, sugar baby, gold digger, whatever. You let her play with people's livelihoods. I have people to take care of, and unlike her I don't have a sponsor to do it for me." She spat. 

She could see the fire in his eyes, she was challenging him, but it pissed him off as well. The tell tale sign was the ticking of his jaw. 

"You sound jealous." He smirked from behind his drink, but that just pissed Beth off even more. She balled her fist by her sides and squinted her eyes at Rio.

"Maybe, you let her come in here and intimidate girls because she's insecure, like she did with Rhea, but-" 

"Elizabeth!" Mick hissed, cutting her off, she snapped her head to him, but the movement in the corner of her eye made her snap back to Rio, and she froze. 

The amusement in his face was gone, and replaced with a hardcore mask that slightly frightened her, but she schooled her expression, she wasn't about to back down for anyone. Including the man who signed her checks. 

"See now, we were having fun until you had to ruin it, yeah?" He spoke with such fire, it should not be turning her on. He towered over her and she had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes, otherwise, she'd be staring at his neck tattoo. Dressed in an all black, a bomber, t-shirt with black jeans, converse, and a beanie on his head. Similar to the last time she saw him. 

He looked good. Deadly, but good. And smelled like cinnamon. Cinnamon was her favorite spice. He looked so plain but drop dead gorgeous at the same time. Like he rolled out of bed, while Beth, dressed in her all black uniform, with her hair cascading down her shoulders and bangs out, looked a hot ass mess, in desperate need of a shower.

It startled her, because for a moment, all she did was stare at his angry face, while he stared into her ocean like big blue eyes. But he lifted his hand and with his pinky, brushed some of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. 

"Instead of listening to idle gossip, by people who have nothing better to do with their lives, except for trying to fuck me and use me for money, why don't you be a good little girl, and leave, while you still have a job, to take care of the people you're whining about." 

"But-" She started to counter, yet he shook his head, and dismissed her, sitting back in his seat. 

She looked to Mick who didn't say anything, and back to Rio, who pulled out his phone, not paying attention to her in the slightest. 

Defeated, she started to leave, opening the door when Rio called out to her. She turned around and he was still looking at his phone. 

"Never speak her name again, or I  _ will _ want you gone." 

She cleared her throat, "Yes, sir." and shut the office door, hurrying to her car to go home. 

Mick just shook his head at his best friend, "That's the same look that got you in trouble the last time. Do you not remember spending 3 quarters of a mill, just to get Dylan back on your good side?" 

Rio mumbled, still looking at his phone, "Yeah, I remember. Everyday." 

"You promised me, no more bartenders." Mick said, pointedly. 

Rio put down his phone, "Yeah, I know. Who says I'm going to fuck her anyways?" 

"Yeah, you said that about Dylan, about Nicole, Sasha from the hotel in Cleveland, Alyssa from Toronto, Marie from NYC, The twins Angelica and Angelina from Miami. Rhe-" He stopped once he saw Rio’s face turn sour again.

"Your point is?" 

"Stop fucking our employees. You keep doing shit like that, then we’re gonna have a giant lawsuit on our hands. Shit seems predatory." 

"First off, I don't fuck our employees. Nicole just started working at Luxe within the past few years. Dylan and Rhea were the only ones that actually worked under the both of us. So, don't even start, All those other girls don't work for us." 

"Okay, fair. But they do things that involve our businesses. What's up with you nowadays man?" 

Rio popped an eyebrow, and put his hand in his chin, looking bored of the conversation. 

"You don't seem happy. You haven't acted like this since we were teenagers. And it wasn't cool back then." 

Rio looked at his best friend, and contemplated his words, "I don't know what you want me to say, exactly?" 

Then it hit Mick, "When was the last time you seen Marcus?" 

Rio shook his head, he wasn't having this conversation. He stood up, getting ready to leave but Mick stopped him. 

"Honestly, when was the last time you saw him?" 

"About 8 months ago." Rio mumbled. 

"Why?" 

He deadpanned Mick, "You know why. Dylan makes it hard for me to go see him. Rhea's family makes it hard for me to see him." 

"Isn't his birthday coming up? Don't you think he'd love to see his father? You're the only parent he has, Chris." 

Again, not wanting to have this conversation, or simply even talk about the guilt that eats him alive daily, he ignored what Mick said. 

"I'll send Eric over tomorrow to look at the books. And then we have a meeting in Toronto at about 2pm. So I suggest you get Dave to manage everything for a couple of nights, cause we will be gone awhile." 

* * *

Getting home at 3 am, honestly isn't fun. But when you're this drunk and tired, you just need a bed. Which is why Rio stumbled into his old loft. His place of solitude. It took him a minute to remember which key opened which lock, but once he got it, it felt like home. 

Closing the door, he realized it'd been ages since he'd been here. He walked around. Not much had changed. 

He remembered Marcus taking his first steps over by the kitchen and Rhea screaming; jumping for joy. 

He remembers the arguments that he and Dylan had, when she felt his attention wasn't on her. 

The time where Dylan actually got physical with him, and threw a knife at him. The marking was still in the drywall. 

When Rhea showed up at his apartment, crying because she found out she was pregnant. 

When Dylan found out that Rhea was pregnant. 

The tears, the screaming, the happiness and joy that bounced throughout these walls were pretty sobering. 

But once he saw the stain on the wooden floors, he remembered why he never came here. 

> _ It was Marcus' first day of pre-school. Rhea wanted him to start going at 2 in order for him to become a doctor, she said. So of course, he just signed the check in order for his son to have the best life possible. Rio made a promise, both to Rhea and Marcus that he would meet them after for dinner at their apartment.  _
> 
> __
> 
> _ Rio owned his loft for as long as he could remember, but after everything went down with him, Rhea and Dylan, he gave his loft to Rhea, for her and Marcus to live in. While he moved about 20 minutes away in another loft with Dylan. He needed his son close, but Dylan made it clear, she didn't want his son around her.  _
> 
> __
> 
> _ But around the time Rhea was supposed to pick up Marcus, the office called him, informing him that Marcus' mother had yet to pick him up. Pick up was over an hour ago. He didn't think anything of it. Rhea had been suffering from Postpartum and probably overslept. Rio dropped everything he was doing in order to get his son, including leaving Dylan in a restaurant from their day out. He would pay for that later.  _
> 
> __
> 
> _ Once getting Marcus and driving him home, His son went on and on about his day with his new teacher and new friends until they reached the front door. It was slightly ajar, and that put Rio on alert. He instantly went up the next level, because Mick and his family lived above him, handed Marcus over to Mick's girlfriend and both of them went back downstairs, guns drawn.  _
> 
> __
> 
> _ They found Rhea, passed out on the floor, right by where Marcus took his first steps. Mick called 911 and Rio tried to wake her up, but nothing worked. Not even the paramedics or doctor could save her. _

Trying to shake his head of the memory, he kicked off his shoes and stumbled across the room, going to his old bed, falling face first against the pillow and passing out. 

The next thing he knew, his phone was ringing by his face. All he wanted was time alone, but of course, he never could. 

Picking up the phone, not even looking at who was calling, "What?" He moaned, but all he heard was giggles. 

"Daddy, why can I only see your beard?" Marcus laughed, 

Rio instantly sat up, looking at the phone to see his son's beautiful face on FaceTime, "Pop? What time is it?" He groaned again, trying to adjust his eyes to the light that was beaming through the windows. 

He saw Marcus look around until he found what he was looking for, "Daddy. it's 11:30 in the morning you never sleep this late." 

Rio smiled, while rubbing his face, "I know, but I had a rough night last night, so, I guess I overslept." 

He saw the change in his son's face as soon as Marcus processed the words. He didn't like his son to worry about anything, and here was his 6 year old, worrying about him. "Did you have an argument with Ms. Dylan again?" 

Marcus tried his hardest to have a relationship with Dylan. He wanted the woman in his Dad's life to like him, but Dylan never accepted him. Which was why, against better judgement, Rio sent Marcus to live with Rhea's sister, Mariah. 

"No, Pop, I didn't, but you shouldn't worry about that. How's school?" He asked, trying to change the subject. 

"Tia Riah says that Ms. Dylan is a gold digger and that I should be with you." 

Rio smirked., He knew Mariah hated him, but she hated Dylan even more. She probably said worse things than that. 

"Did she say that or worse?" Rio chuckled. 

Marcus thought about it, and then responded "She said words that Abuelita said that I can't repeat." He paused, and a smile came on his face, "But they were really funny." 

"I bet they were." 

There was somewhat of a lull between the two of them, neither of them spoke, just enjoying being on the phone with each other. Rio, just staring at his son, who he missed dearly and Marcus, who was tracing his eyelashes with his fingertips. A nervous habit he got from his mother. 

"What's on your mind, Marcus?" 

Marcus sighed, "I love Abuelita and Tia Riah, Rocky and Tio Mateo, but when can I come home? I miss you. I'll clean my room everyday and I promise not to bother Ms. Dylan at all." He pleaded. 

Rio just sighed, running a hand down his face. His 6 year old shouldn't have to beg to come home or even say "I'll clean my room and won't bother someone" in his own home. 

"Pop,-" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Marcus started talking again, but he couldn't even focus on that because Dylan called him. 

He declined the call, and his phone went back to Marcus' face, 

"Sorry, someone called me. What were you saying?" Rio apologized. 

"I said, I'm a straight A student and I'm line leader and student of the month. I love being in Toronto with Mom's family, but-" 

He was cut off again, because Dylan was calling him. 

"Pop, let me call you right back, okay?" 

Marcus sighed, "It's okay, Daddy. I'll talk to you next week." 

"No, Marcus, I-" 

But Marcus hung up the phone, allowing him to answer Dylan's call. 

"Yes, Dylan." He said, when her face and fro came into view on the phone. 

"Why the fuck did you not answer my call the first time?" she scowled. 

"Because I was on the phone. Did you want something?" He responded, placing his chin in his hand, watching her face get angrier. 

"Who's so important that you couldn't answer my damn call?" 

"I was talking to Marcus." He said. Bringing up Marcus was an extremely touchy subject, especially with Dylan, and if he was going to get Marcus to move home, he needed to be on Dylan's good side.

"For what?" She scrunched up her face, like she does when she is about to throw a temper tantrum, and Rio didn't have time for that. 

He started slowly, trying not to let his anger at her disgust show, "Because he's my son, and he wants to come hom-" 

"No. Absolutely not. My house is not child-proof. He can stay in Toronto with his family." She shook her head, totally against the idea. 

"Dylan. I'm his family." He warned, but the tears started falling. 

"No. No!" She shook her head, and wiped her face with her free hand. "It's bad enough that you have a kid. But now you want him to live with us. Have him in my house, after you cheated. Is it not enough that I let him stay for 2 years after his mother killed herself?" 

Rio knew this was a losing battle. There was nothing he could say or do that would change her mind. 

"I was reminded of what you did every time I saw him. Every time his school called, he cried in the middle of the night. I just, I can't take that again."She pouted. 

After about a minute or so her eyes went cold. "Wait, where are you?" she asked, trying to look in the background. 

"My old loft, and before you start, I had a long night last night and this was closer to me than our place." He mumbled, 

She simply rolled her eyes, "I wasn't about to start anything." She snapped. 

"Why'd you call me?" Which made her smile brightly,

"Cause, I wanted to show you the new Dior bag you just bought me." She put the bag up in the camera, talking about all it's features. He just sighed, and listened. 

As their conversation came to a close Rio sighed. "I have to get off the phone, D. Mick and I have business in Windsor, and we’ll be staying for a few nights." 

That made her eyebrow pop up, "Why didn't you tell me this before?" 

"Because, you can't go. This is actual business." 

"I've been on business trips before." She countered. 

"D, nothing is going to happen." He tried to reassure her, but like usual, it didn't work.

"How do I know that? You're going with Mick." 

"Exactly, he has a family. We won't be doing anything." 

Dylan rolled her eyes, probably for the 100th time during the call. 

"Bullshit, Jessa hates me. She'd make sure you'd do something to spite me." She vented. 

It was true, Mick's girlfriend, Jessica, couldn't stand Dylan. Jessica was Rhea's best friend, and Marcus' godmother. 

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just handling business." he reassured his whiny significant other. 

"Are you going to Toronto?" She interrogated. 

Rio sighs, "Yes, it's been 8 months since I've seen my son. I think I can go see him, Dylan." 

"Fine, but I hope you enjoyed sleeping at the old loft. Cause you're gonna be there for awhile!" She huffed and immediately hung up the phone.

He looked at the time. Fuck. It was almost 1pm, and they needed to get to their meeting at 2. The place was about 4 hours away. They were gonna be late. 

He jumped out of bed, calling Mick while stripping to get into the shower. 

"I know, I know. Kill me later but I need 10 minutes." Rio rushed into the phone once Mick answered. 

Mick just laughed, "I knew once I saw your car in your spot that we would need to push the time back. We meet with them tomorrow, that gives us enough time to get up there so you can see Mar." 

* * *

"Okay, B. I need you to slow down, okay?" Ruby laughed as Beth ran across the rec center straightening out all the decorations. 

"You know that girl panics all the time. Leave her alone." Mrs. Johnson laughed, while reprimanding Ruby for laughing at her best friend. 

"Everything has to be perfect! Okay, I need everything to be perfect." Beth yawned, and covered her mouth. 

"Oh, my god. Excuse me." She said, slightly turning pink. 

"I thought you got off early last night?" Ruby asked, while helping her mom set up the food for the baby shower. 

Beth sighed, trying to distract herself from spilling too much, "I did. But I kinda couldn't sleep." 

"What'd you do B? All the decorations and cake were perfect already. We made sure of that." Ruby frowned, making Beth shake her head. 

"No, it had nothing to deal with the baby shower. I got into a discussion with my boss." She shrugged. 

Ruby and her mom looked at one another, "Discussion?" Mrs. Johnson asked. 

Rolling her eyes, Beth confessed what Aria and Nicole told her, then about how she stormed into the office and yelled at Mick and Rio - who also happens to be her boss - and everything she said.

Ruby instantly started cracking up, "You yelled at your boss?" Mrs. Johnson questioned with shock. 

"Oh, Ms. Debbie, please don't look at me like that. They deserved it. Letting that girl mess with my paycheck!" Beth defended herself. 

"I'm sorry honey, I just can't believe you said all that and didn't get fired." 

Beth sighed, "But they're probably going to make my shifts hell. I'm not excited for that." 

As their conversation ended, guests started piling in, and Beth put on her hostess smile and welcomed her guests. 

* * *

"Oh, I'm so happy I'm having a girl!!" Annie squealed, sitting on the couch in their living room. 

"I'm glad I was finally able to tell you. I can't tell you how many times I've almost called her Sadie." Beth laughed, 

Annie smiled at her sister, and then grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. 

"Thank you so much for today, I truly enjoyed it. I did." 

That was one of the things that Beth was most afraid of, that Annie would hate the shower. 

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Except Greg's parents." She giggled. 

Annie rolled her eyes, "God, did you see the way his mother would wipe the seat before she sat down, like it had dirt on it or something." 

Beth did see Greg's parents making judgy faces and comments. It pissed her off, but the fact that Annie had a smile on her face the entire time made up for it. 

"They truly are assholes, I don't see how Greg isn't like that?" Beth commented. 

Annie shrugged, "I mean, he has his asshole moments but he's really not that bad." She laughed. 

"If one thing could make this day perfect, it would be if Mom was here." Annie spoke sadly. 

Honestly, Beth doesn't miss their mother. Of course she loved her, but her mom was no angel. She died in a car accident caused by her drinking problems. Beth could take care of Annie and Sadie, no problem, but to also have to take care of Mom right now? It would be way too much. But Annie, being the younger sibling, only remembered the good times with both Mom and Dad. Unfortunately Beth had more bad than good memories. 

"Yeah, it would've been nice." Beth said, playing with the fabric on their couch, trying not to say too much that would upset Annie. 

"But, who am I kidding, she would've been so angry that I got knocked up at 15." Annie chuckled, 

Beth scoffed, "I was angry when you told me." 

Annie shrugged, "Well, all I had to do was cry and you were puddy in my hands." She laughed 

"I'm glad you had a good time at your shower. I was really nervous about it."Beth replied, ignoring her sister’s comments.

Annie hit her sister's arm, "C'mon Beth. You throw the best parties, no matter what. Of course I loved it. I would've loved it more, if you and Ruby would have let me slap Greg's mom, though." 

"Annie, you can't go slapping your future mother in law." Beth laughed. 

"What do you want from me? I'm 15. Greg hasn't proposed, and I'm not getting married anytime soon. So, I can slap her if she irritates me." 

Both of them laughed, and enjoyed each other's company before the next day of reality. It was nice to just sit and talk to one another without worrying that the rent was going to be late or about work.. But Beth was tired and tomorrow was her first day off in so long.

"Night, Annie." She yawned getting up from the couch. Of course, she had to help Annie off the couch, otherwise she'd be sleeping in their living room. 

"Night, Beth." Annie hugged her sister again, as much as she could with her big belly. "Thank you again for today. I really loved it." 

Beth smiled, kissed and rubbed the top of Annie's head like she used to when they were younger. 

"You're welcome. I'm glad to do it." 

"I love you." Annie mumbled in her shirt. 

"I love you too, Annie."


	4. Sure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is Saturday, isn't it 😂😂😂😂. 
> 
> I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.... I didnt 😂😂 but it was okay. Also, Thank you and S/O to all the love on Tumblr, I've been getting because someone decided give hate on anon and everyone proved them wrong. So 🤷🏽♀️. I appreciate it so much. 
> 
> As Always, translations at the bottom!

Since Dylan wasn't expecting him to be home for awhile, Rio decided he was going to stay in Toronto. Thankfully, he had an apartment and a car up there, so once Mick dropped him off after the meet, the first thing he did was pick up Marcus. 

He knew that after the phone call yesterday that Marcus would be upset and sad, but he didn't expect to see his father. Rio couldn’t wait to see the smile on his son’s face.. 

Pulling up to Rhea's family home, he sat outside for a few minutes, just watching the house. It was quiet and the wind was whipping passed very fast. It was going to be a cold winter, just from the looks of fall in Toronto. He knew that Rosa - Rhea's mother - and Mariah, her twin sister, would not be pleased that he just showed up without calling, but he needed to see his son, especially after all the fights that he had with Dylan, and the reminder of Rhea earlier that week from  _ Elizabeth.  _

Rio shook his head, Elizabeth did kind of reminded him of Rhea. In a bossy, and demanding kind of way. She was stacked and he had heard the male bartenders and bodyguards talk about the new, smokin’ hot red-head. Rio wasn't interested, of course, until he actually saw what she looked like. Young, but beautiful. She had a mouth on her and a defiance that he wanted to break, just like he did with Rhea, and similar to how he did with Dylan at first. 

The knocking on the driver’s side window made him jump out of his thoughts, and he almost pulled out his gun to meet the stranger, but it was only Mariah, and she was scowling.

Rio had known Rhea, Mariah, Raquel and Matteo, basically their entire lives. They grew up together, and now here they were, years later, and they hated him. 

"¿Vas a salir del coche? ¿O te sentarás aquí como un maldito acosador?" She asked crossing her arms. Sighing, he opened the door like she asked, making her step back and got out of the car.

Facing Mariah, he replied, "Hola a ti tambien, Mariah"

"¿Por qué estás aquí? Ayer molestaste a mi sobrino, eligiendo a tu puta por encima de él. ¡De Nuevo !" She spat, using her pointer finger to poke his chest.

Rio sighed again, getting irritated at her referring to Dylan as his whore. 

"Sé que lo molesté. Por eso estoy aquí. ¿No puedo ir a ver a mi hijo? Y Dylan no es una puta." 

"Yes, she is." Raquel came from around the car, standing right next to Mariah. 

"Hi, Rocky." Rio spoke, in the same annoyed voice that he had with Mariah. 

"Rocky is what my family calls me. You are not family,  _ Christopher."  _ She sneered, making Mariah chuckle as well. 

"You're lucky Matteo isn't here. He's been waiting to beat your ass." Mariah teased. 

Annoyed with this conversation, he walked away, but not before saying, "And he'd get his ass beat, just like the last time he tried." 

"Daddy, Daddy, look. I have to show you this." Marcus smiled and then ran off to his room to get something. Rosa had made Marcus' favorite meal in order to cheer him up, but he didn't expect to see his father.

"More tea, Christopher?" Rosa asked, making Rio shake his head. 

"No, I'm good. How's Pop doing?" He asked, trying to change the subject. 

Rosa was a typical Hispanic mother, one of the things he loved about her, and the fact that she was raising his son made a lot of his worries disappear. 

She sat down at the table and touched his hand, like any elder in the community would. 

"He's okay. But he misses -" 

"He misses his mom, I know." He spoke somberly, but Rosa shook her head, 

"Of course he misses my Mija.... but he misses his Papa too. He wants to come home, Christopher." She spoke, with a lot of concern. 

Rio nodded his head, "I know. I'm working on it. I promise." 

Rosa sighed, and stood up from the table as they both could hear Marcus running back from his room. 

"The last time you were working on it, or promised something, I got a phone call my daughter died." She spoke, walking away from the table and cleaning the kitchen, just as Marcus ran into the room. 

"Daddy, I found this picture of us. Me, you and Mom. I had Abuelita blow it up for me so I can put it on my desk." He smiled, placing the photo in front of his father. 

Rio picked up the picture. It was a picture of Marcus at his 2nd birthday, maybe 6 months before Rhea died. The smile she sported in the picture didn't reach her eyes, even then. He'd known Rhea her entire life. How did he not see it? 

"Marcus, Meil. Why don't you go pack a bag to spend the night with  _ tu papa _ ?" Rosa suggested, making Marcus smile bright. 

"Si, Abuelita." And he ran off again. But Rio was still looking at the picture, 

"Makes you wonder, what you could've done better or what you could've said, to make her stay here." Rosa said, breaking him out of his thoughts. 

Clearing his throat, Rio pushed down his emotions. "Yeah. I'm- I'm going to make this right Rosa. I am." He promised, still staring at the picture. 

She patted him on the shoulder, walking out of the kitchen, "I hope so mijo, I hope so." and she went to go help Marcus pack a bag. 

* * *

After spending the last few days with Marcus, Rio knew it was time to have a conversation with him. 

"Pop, how would you feel, moving back home with me when I leave in a few days?" He asked, looking at his son in the rear-view mirror of his G-wagon. God, he missed this car. 

Marcus instantly had a light in his eyes, but then the excitement went away. 

"Are we gonna live in your apartment with just us, or are we gonna live in the big apartment with us and Ms. Dylan?" He asked, cautiously. 

"I was thinking that we'd all live together in the big apartment. Remember you loved it the last time you were over." Rio said, trying to be somewhat optimistic. 

Marcus just looked out the window, " Yeah, but Ms. Dylan got mad that my fingers touched the glass and that I sat on the white couch and I made too much noise while she was in her room." 

"Do you want to move back with me, Marcus?" By now, the car was stopped at their destination, and Rio was fully turned around looking at his son. He could see the tears falling from his face. 

"I do, Daddy. I do, But I don't want to get sent back once she gets mad at me or because she doesn't like me or the things I want to do or watch." Marcus sniffled, breaking his father's heart. He shouldn't have let it go this far, he shouldn't have sent him away because it made her unhappy. 

"I promise. When you come to move back with me, you won't be sent back to Abuela's house, unless you want to visit. You're mine and you know I protect what's mine, right?" He said, cracking an inside joke, making Marcus smile a little. 

"Yeah, and if someone hurts me, then you'll hurt them." Marcus slightly laughed, remembering the times his father had told him that. 

"I want you to come home, be with me. I miss you, everyday." Rio pleaded, making Marcus wipe his eyes and look at him. 

"I miss you too." He responded. 

"I'm sorry, I made you feel that Dylan was more important than you. You're the most important thing in my life Pop." 

Marcus unbuckled himself from his booster seat, and threw himself into the front area of the G-wagon. Hugging his father, making Rio laugh and hug him back. 

"I take it that you accept my apology?" 

Marcus nodded, not really saying anything, except making the hold around Rio's neck tighter. 

Patting his son's back, Rio smiled. "C'mon. Now let's pick out the furniture and stuff you want for your room at home. You need big boy stuff."

* * *

Dylan hadn't seen Rio in a week, and honestly, she felt that her punishment for him was too easy. But of course, still having his black card, she made the punishment harder. 

She changed the locks to the loft, but of course she knew that he could get back in. And let's be honest, once he got tired of being in the old apartment, he would come crawling back to her. Begging for her forgiveness like always, and she would hold out for a couple more days before giving into the temptations that is her man. 

However, she still kept things the way he liked. She would not be caught off guard, giving him a reason to be mad at her. Their relationship had hit more valleys than peaks and she couldn't lose him, especially after 10 years of being together. She could tell that he was getting tired of the same old song and dance, and she was too, but she did everything in her power to keep him happy and to keep him with her. 

Like letting his son stay with them when his mother died. 

Dylan was not happy about that at all. She made it very clear from the beginning - after forgiving Rio for cheating with his whore - that she would be no one's stepmother and no one's mommy. She was too young and looked too damn good to have anyone call her Mom. And she still felt the same way, but it hurt seeing a little Rio running around the house. She was so glad when Rio sent him away, she finally was able to breathe and have her man's undivided attention. 

She hated that every time the kid laughed or cried, Rio’s whore would call and he would drop everything to see him. It got even worse once the child moved in, crying in the middle of the night for his dead mommy, wanting to cuddle with Dylan, even though she wouldn't allow it. Or the few times he woke up at night, in the middle of Rio fucking her, and they had to stop because "Marcus needs me." 

Dylan Jachelle Moretti was no one's step mom or mommy. And she was happy to throw away that damn baby monitor the moment he sent his kid to Toronto. 

There was a knock at the front door, interrupting her thoughts.. She was making a protein shake in the kitchen, getting back from her workout with a few girlfriends.

Opening the front door, in her peach workout bra with matching pants and her big curly hair in a pineapple ponytail ,she smiled at the doorman, who eyed her hungrily, and leaned on the doorway, holding the door open with her arm.

"Hi, Oliver." Oliver was a 20 something year old, who definitely couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Nothing would ever happen between them, simply because he was the doorman, but Dylan appreciated him, because she knew that if he was staring and horny for her, so was everyone else. 

He cleared his throat, "Mr. Dominguez, has a couple of movers replacing old furniture later on today. I just wanted to give you a heads up." 

This piqued her interest, and she stood up straight, "What kind of furniture?"

"I don't know, ma'am. But he left you this note. He'll be back this evening." Oliver spoke, handing her a hand written note from Rio. 

She took the note and nodded her head, "Thanks, Oliver" Then slammed the door in his face, turning around to go back into the kitchen. 

See? She knew he would come crawling back. She'd been complaining about their bed set for awhile now, and he was probably replacing it to get back into her good graces. 

She sat down on the barstool in front of the counter, finishing her shake, when she opened the letter. 

And she was pissed. 

Not even caring that Rio or Mick could've been in any meeting, she stormed into Luxe on a mission. She knew he would be here, and she didn't even have to go to his other apartment. 

Passing all the employees that said hello to her, she simply ignored them and stomped up to the office. 

Opening the door, she saw Rio sitting behind the desk, with Marcus in his lap, laughing about something on the computer. She slammed the written note on the desk, instantly looking at Rio. 

"What the fuck is this?!" She yelled, not caring that Marcus was in his lap, cowering into his father's chest. 

Rio squinted his eyes at her, a warning.. But she didn't care. Then he turned to look at Marcus,

"Hey, Pop. Why don't you go downstairs to find Tio Mick and have him get you juice at the bar. Okay?" 

Marcus looked at his father, worry in his face, which made Rio nod his head, "It's okay, Pop. Promise. I'll be down there soon." 

Marcus sighed, and got off his father's lap, walking to the door, "Hi, Ms. Dylan." He mumbled, 

"Hi, Marcus." She said back with disdain, and he closed the office door going back downstairs. 

"How could you-" She started yelling, but stopped once Rio put his finger up. He started watching the security cameras, following Marcus, to make sure he got downstairs, once he saw that his son was okay, he turned back to Dylan. 

"How the fuck could you do this to me  _ again _ , Rio! I told you no!" She barked, 

"He's my son. Dylan. I'm his only parent! It's not anybody's responsibility to take care of him, except for me!" 

"Why can't her sister and mother take care of him? Why are you moving new furniture in the other room?You knew I wanted to renovate that room for filming!" She crossed her arms, waiting for his answer. 

"I was never going to let you have Marcus' room. He needs it. You already have a room for that." 

"I DON'T WANT YOUR MISTAKE IN MY HOUSE!" She screamed at him. 

"HE'S NOT A FUCKIN MISTAKE! AND IT'S MY FUCKING HOUSE!" He stood up from the chair yelling at her. 

"I pay for everything! If I want my son to move into MY house, I'm going to do it! I've considered your feelings for way too long! Marcus needs me!" 

"WHAT ABOUT ME!" She screeched, pointing to herself, while her chest heaved up and down. Couldn’t he see that this was a MAJOR inconvenience? 

"What about you, sweetheart? Either you deal with it, or you get the fuck out. Simple." He shrugged. 

Dylan was shocked, he hadn't spoken to her like this in years. She stepped back from the table, and looked at him with wide eyes, 

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" 

"What do you want me to say, D?” He shrugged, she didn’t like this Rio then, and she definitely didn’t like him this way now. 

“Hm? I've let you, FOR YEARS, get away with any and everything because I felt guilty. FOR YEARS. I wasn't there for his birth because of you. I've missed pivotal moments in his life, because of you. I even sent him away for you, like I'm ashamed of him. You've talked shit about Rhea-" 

"Don't you dare fucking say her name to me! Dont you fucking dare!" By now, the tears were falling, she knew Rio wasn't going to let her have her way this time. 

"I'm not sleeping in the old apartment anymore. I'm coming home, and Marcus is coming with me too. And he's staying. For good." 

"And what if I disagree with everything." She countered. 

He sighed, and rolled his shoulders, placing his hands together in front of him, "Aight. You wanna play this game? Cool. Then I suggest you leave everything I paid for, and get out." 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Or you can get over it and I will see you when I get home, with Marcus." 

She huffed out a breath and looked to the ceiling to stop herself from crying. "After 10 years, that's it, huh?" 

"That's it, D." 

She looked at him, and more tears fall, "I really fucking hate you sometimes." 

He came from around the desk, leaning on the front of it, and pulled her to him. At first she resisted, not falling for it. 

"Don't touch me." She mumbled. 

"C'mon Darlin'" He drawled, and pulled her to him again, but this time she came. He wiped her tears, 

"I know, but you love me sometimes, too." He smiled at her, 

"Unfortunately." She laughed, falling into his chest, hugging him. 

"Promise nothing will change?" She whispered, playing with his rosary. 

"I promise, D. But you gotta actually try with Pop. He's only 6, a little kid. He didn't ask to be born." He said, kissing the top of her forehead. 

She moved to look up at him, staring into his big brown eyes, she looked to find any lie in his face, but she couldn’t. 

"Fine. I will. I promise." 

"Thank you, that's all I ask."

* * *

This shift it was Ricki and Beth, and Beth was pulling a double, working the midday/happy hour rush and the nighttime rush. She knew, again, that she was going to be exhausted. But she took any and every shift without complaint, especially after her run in with Mick and Rio. 

She'd stayed away from the both of them, making sure not to piss them off more than she already did. She hadn't seen Mick, because every shift she had Rio was suddenly present for. But thank God he wasn't here today.

"Mad sugar baby coming in hot." Jose, a bodyguard for the club joked, as he walked past the bar. 

Ricki rolled her eyes, "Why the fuck is she here?" They all watched as Dylan ignored and grimaced at everyone she encountered and stomped up the stairs.

Beth stayed silent, not engaging in ‘idle gossip’ from her co-workers - as she was told not to - but it was hard as hell sometimes. Especially after watching Dylan's youtube videos the other day about her life and her "Big Poppa". This girl seriously gave way too much for her viewers and watching the viral video of her revealing who Big Poppa was, and why, was just way too much. But Beth would never tell a soul that. 

"You know Rio's upstairs. She probably maxed out her card or some shit." Jose called out as he walked away to start his shift, but it made Beth freeze, 

He was here again. 

She looked to Ricki, and tried to casually ask, "Does he always come here this often?" 

"You gotta be specific, dollface. Who are we talking about?" Ricki laughed, while prepping ice and lemon wedges for their shift. 

"Rio. I worked here for three months and never saw him, but now he's here every other shift." 

Ricki stopped what she was doing and turned to fully look at Beth. 

"What?" Beth asked, she was extremely uncomfortable with the way that Ricki was looking at her. 

"Why?" She drawled, even though they were in Detroit, Ricki was from Dallas, and had that southern twang to her voice. The accent was to die for, but when it was questioning Beth, it made her uneasy. 

Beth tried to play nonchalant, and not truly care, but it didn't work out that well, "I mean, I just noticed." 

"Honey, the last girl that "noticed" ended up in a world of trouble." Ricki crossed her arms, still looking at Beth. 

"Why does everyone make a big deal of Rio? I don't understand." 

She was truly confused. Everyone was always so cryptic and secretive about him, but they all wanted to be with him, or have a piece of him. It was truly maddening. 

Ricki sighed, "Look, sugar, you're new, bright eyed and bushy-tailed." She said, and then smacked Beth on her ass, making her yelp.

"That hurt!" Beth pouted, and rubbed her ass. 

Ricki laughed, "Anyways, he sees that and will use that to his advantage. Too many girls have fallen victim to his charm and good looks. Most don't even have to have sex with him, but it's something about him that just makes people drawn to him. Dylan included." 

Even more confused by that statement, she about to speak, when a little voice came up to the bar. 

"Hey Ricki, can I have some apple juice, please?" 

Ricki turned to look and laughed and smiled at the little boy, "Of course, you can. You can have anything you want! Look at your face!" She took his face in her hands and squeezed his cheeks, making him giggle. 

"Marcus, meet Beth, she's new here. Talk to her while I go in the back, honey." She said disappearing, but the little boy smiled at her. 

"Hi, I'm Marcus." 

Beth smiled back, "Hi, I'm Beth. What's a little cutie like you doing in a place like this?" 

He smiled, "This is my daddy's bar. Why are you in a place like this?" He questioned back. 

She pointed in the direction that Ricki had gone, "Like Ricki said, I work here now." 

"Cool. Do you like working for my daddy and Tio?" 

Beth nodded her head, "Yeah, they're great bosses. Everyone that works here is really nice." 

"Yeah, I think so too. Plus they give me whatever I want when I come." He smiled, and that's when Beth noticed his missing tooth. 

"You're missing a tooth, when did you lose it?" 

He got really excited, "I lost it a few days ago. Back when I was with my Tia Riah and Abuelita, it was super loose, but they hate pulling my teeth. But when I came home with Daddy, he plucked it right out of my mouth! It was so gross!!!" He laughed, 

"I bet it was!" Beth laughed right with him, but Ricki came back with Mick. 

"Here you go Marcus, one apple juice! Just the way you like it." She smiled handing it to him, he said a polite thank you. 

Beth looked at Mick, "Your son is so adorable." Beth has had conversations about his children. He had two sons and one daughter with his girlfriend Jessa that everyone loved. She was an amazing lady, so sweet and fit perfectly with Mick. Jessa had even offered to give Annie her hand-me-downs for the baby.

Ricki and Mick looked at one another confused, but Marcus started giggling. 

"Beth, no! Tio Mick is my uncle!!" 

_ Wait, Rio had a kid?  _

"Mar, why are you down here, I thought you and your Dad was gonna watch tv." Mick said, coming to sit next to his godson. 

The smile disappeared from his face, and he started playing with his eyelashes. 

"Ms. Dylan came by and she was angry. Her and Daddy started arguing, so he told me to come down here to find you. But I couldn't, so I came to get apple juice." He mumbled, and then started drinking his juice. 

"Well, I'm sure your dad will be right down, yeah?" Beth said, giving him a soft smile while touching his arm, trying to console him. Marcus sighed, but then looked at Beth and smiled.

She then looked to Mick, who kind of stared at her, looking mad, but she couldn't decipher the look, because Rio called out. 

"Ayo, Pop. C'mon, time to go." He said, standing in the middle of the club. Marcus turned around, seeing his father, then turned back to everyone. 

"Bye Ricki. Nice to meet you, Beth." He smiled, and both ladies said bye to him, as Mick helped him climb down and he ran over to his father. 

When Beth looked up, Rio was staring at her, similarly to the way that he did when they last spoke. His left arm was propped over Dylan's shoulder and her arm was wrapped around Rio. Whatever concern she had, it was obvious that she let it go. Realizing that she was staring, she turned around to tidy everything before they opened for the day, but she could feel his dark eyes on her as she completed her tasks

"Mhm. Told you, Michael." Ricki mumbled, slightly smirking, shaking her head with her arms crossed. 

"Told him what?" Beth looked to the both of them. 

Mick stood up from the barstool and tapped the bar counter, "Idle gossip. Let's get to work ladies." He said, shrugging before striding off to where Marcus had just ran to Rio. 

"Told you. World of Trouble, darlin'". Ricki laughed, continuing her prep. Beth rolled her eyes and went into the locker area to get her charger for her phone. 

When she came back out, it was only Ricki and Mick walking around making sure everything was set for tonight. 

Rio was gone. 

And she pretended that she didn't notice.

* * *

After working the double, all she wanted to do was go home and go to sleep. Thankfully they got off early, as tonight wasn't so busy. But working at the bank from 7:30 am - 2:30pm, then at the bar from 3pm to 2 am, was exhausting.

But of course, luck was never on her side. Of anything, really. That was why she was in the pouring rain, with her beat up, old 2000 silver Toyota Corolla, which wouldn’t start. It had broken down about 2 miles away from Luxe. 

It was too dark and late to walk home, and that would be a long ass walk. She couldn't call Ruby or Annie because Ruby was taking a road trip with her new boyfriend, and Annie was 8 months pregnant with no car. 

Looking down at her phone, she saw she only had 6% left, and there was no one she could call. There was one person, but she was NOT calling him.

"Fuck!" She screamed, kicking her tire, maybe she could try to see what was wrong. 

She popped the hood, for the third time, using her phone's flashlight to try to see the problem, but c'mon, Beth wasn't in chop shop in high school, she easily dominated Home Ec, and unless her engine spontaneously turned into flour, eggs, milk and sugar, she couldn't do shit to the damn thing.

Beth wiped her eyes from the rain, she probably had makeup running down her face too. Groaning, she turned her phone over, which now had 4%, she needed to call someone now, or she was gonna end up sleeping in her car. 

Closing the hood, and running back over to the driver side door, she took a few seconds to collect her thoughts and her breath, because if she was going to make this call, she needed all the strength in her body.

Biting her thumbnail, looking at the contact, she sighed, "Fuck it," and pressed call, placing her phone to her ear, she pleaded with the universe, 'Don't pick up, Don't pick up, Don't pick up'

But again, she wasn't that lucky. His voice rang out on the 4th ring, 

"Hello?" His sleepy voice said, she sighed. 

"Hi, Dean." 

She heard shuffling, and then he came back on the phone, 

"Bethie?" He asked, a little clearer, Beth rolled her eyes at the ugly nickname he gave her years ago. 

"Yeah, hey. Can you come pick me up? My car broke down again, and I'-" 

"Do you know what time it is, Bethie?" He questioned. 

Of course she knew what fucking time it was. "Yes, Dean. I wouldn't be calling if I didn't need your help, okay?" 

He chuckled over the phone, "Last time I talked to you, you said you didn't need my help. I told you, you needed to get rid of that piece of junk Bethie. I could've gotten you a good deal on a newer car." 

She huffed, "Like I said the last time,  _ Dean.  _ I couldn't afford a newer car payment. It works just fine and is paid off. All I have to do is pay the insurance on it." 

"If it works  _ "just fine",  _ Why are you calling me at 2:30 in the morning?" He countered. 

Pressing her fingertips to her eyeballs, trying not to yell at her dumbass ex. 

"Forget it Dean. Forget that I called, and go back to sleep." She gritted out. 

He chuckled again, "No, I'm on my way. Where are you?" She could hear him getting out of the bed, and getting dressed. She took the phone from her ear to look at the percentage, and her other options. She had none. and her phone was now at 1%. 

She sighed, "Fine. I’m about a quarter mile from the corner of Sycamore and Maine, but my phone is about to die. So," 

"Yeah, I got it. Be there in 20 minutes." 

She couldn't even say thank you before the phone made a noise that it had officially died. 

~~ 

Her watch told her that it was an hour after she'd called Dean, and he wasn't there yet. He wasn't coming, and it was still pouring outside. 

Honestly, she felt like crying, but she could do that later. She didn't have time for it right now. 

Getting out of the car, she popped the hood. The rain was colder now as the night went on, and she felt the warm drops on her face. Damnit. She was crying. 

"Fuck!!" She screamed again, furiously wiping her face, trying to focus on her engine, but she heard a car approaching. 

"What the fuck took you so long, Dean." She mumbled to herself, but looked up and saw a black Cadillac next to her car. 

Dean didn't drive a Cadillac. He couldn't afford a fucking Cadillac. 

"Need help?" The driver called out, slightly yelling over the coming down of the rain, rolling down the window, and she was met with the same dark eyes that stared at her earlier today.

It was Rio. Of course.

Leaning into the window, feeling the heat from a working car, she cleared her throat, "No, I have someone coming." She said. 

He looked around the street, which was empty besides their two respective cars, 

"Don't look like anyone is coming. How about you call them and see where they are. I'll wait." 

She sighed, trying to yell over the rain, she responded, "I can't. Phone's dead." 

He nodded his head, clicked his tongue and responded, "Aight, I can take you home."

She shook her head, rejecting the idea, and hearing all of her co-workers voices in her ear. He was not good news, "Rio, I said someone is coming for me." Even though she knew Dean wasn't coming, she accepted that she would have to sleep in her cold car, in wet clothes, and just figure it all out in the morning. 

Maybe Annie wouldn't call the police.  _ Who are we kidding, Annie probably already called the police,  _ she thought, which made her roll her eyes.

"Elizabeth, it's almost 4 in the morning. It's pouring, it's cold as hell, and I'm offering you a free ride. I can call someone to pick up your car, darlin'" 

She looked up and down the street, rolling her eyes, she knew he wasn't coming, and even though she accepted it, she didn't want to be stranded here all night. She wanted to go to bed.

She sighed, "Fine. Let me grab my stuff." 

She removed herself from the window, and went to grab her bags from the front and backseat. She heard the car door close, and looked up to see Rio in a hoodie, with a flashlight looking at her engine. 

"What are you doing?" She basically had to yell over the rain. 

"Telling my mechanic what's wrong!" He yelled back, and then shut the hood, and helped her into the car, after she locked the car. 

Feeling the heat of his car, made her sigh in relief as she settled in it. He hurried and popped the trunk, coming back with a blanket, handing it to her. She mumbled a quick 'thanks' and watched him turn on the seat heater for her. Now her butt was warm, and she was entangled in a blanket that smelled just like him. She was so into her own thoughts of being warm, she didn't notice that he had driven off already. 

Chuckling, he spoke out, "Gotta tell me where you live."

Nodding from her cocoon, "You know Lincoln Heights apartments?" She whispered, holding her hands in front of the vents. 

He looked over at her, cautiously, "You live over there?" 

She nodded, avoiding eye contact. 

It was cheap and near Annie's school and job, so that she could walk there, or take the bus in the winter. But it was dangerous, and it wasn't safe sometimes. It was honestly all they could afford.

The majority of the car ride was silent, as soft music played in the background. She noticed that his car - just like the blanket- smelled like him. It fit his aesthetic, sleek, minimal and black. She was freaked that it was abnormally clean for someone who had a little kid. Annie was 15, and made a mess in her car, so it was weird to see that he had a kid less than 10, and his car looked as if he just got it off of the lot.

She didn't even notice that he was talking to her until he said her name. 

"What? I'm sorry." She blushed, looking over to him, as he watched her in front of a red light.

"You want to call who was supposed to pick you up? Let them know you're okay?" He said, handing over his phone. 

Clearing her throat, she stared at him with the red light shining on his face. The way that he looked, against the light, it fit, devilishly handsome. Realizing she was staring, he smirked and she opened her mouth to speak, 

"Yeah, thanks." She took his phone, biting her thumbnail again. Thankfully, it wasn't too awkward, because the light turned green and his attention turned back to the road. She looked at his phone, a picture of him and his son. They were cute.  _ Focus, Beth.  _ She thought to herself, immediately bypassing his screen,going to his call log and starting to dial Dean's number. Unfortunately she still remembered it, by heart. 

It rang twice, before he answered, "Hello?" 

She rolled her eyes, 

"It's me, Dean." She spoke with annoyance.

"Oh, Bethie, sorry. I'm on my way now. I got caught up." He chuckled, but she heard the background, hearing whatever girl he had:

_ Dean come back to bed _

She scoffed, "Don't even fucking bother. I got a ride home." 

"With who?" Dean questioned. 

"Doesn't matter. You can stay caught up for all I care." She snapped back, 

"Don't be like that, Bethie." He said sadly, 

"Bye, Dean." She gritted out. 

"Wait, Are you gonna stop by the dealership to get your car fixed, or hopefully give me commission and buy a new car? Dad could give you a discount if I persuade him to." She could hear the ugly ass grin he had over the phone.

"Fuck off, Dean." She spat, and hung up the phone. 

Handing Rio his phone by placing it in the cupholder between them, she could see the smile on his lips even in the dark. 

"Boyfriend?" He asked, he was amused. 

Beth rolled her eyes, "He still wishes. Ex- fiancee." She crossed her arms, looking out of the window at the street lights passing them. 

"Sorry to hear." He mumbled. 

"Don't be, the asshole cheated and had more high school girlfriends than I could count." She mumbled, as he pulled up to her apartment building. 

"This is you." He stated, looking at the wear and tear on the outside of the building. She could tell that he was definitely judging the place. Internally rolling her eyes, she thought,  _ rich people _ . If she was okay living like this, why couldn't everyone else? Not everyone had a silver spoon in their mouths, and honestly Beth did her best, no matter the given situation.

She nodded, and turned to look at him, "Thank you. You didn't have to bring me home." 

After about a minute of staring in silence at one another, "No. I didn't but I wanted to." 

She grunted, making a sound of understanding, but couldn't focus on anything really, except the plumpness of his lips. 

Now, it was his turn to clear his throat, "We good, yeah?" 

Bringing her eyes from his lips to his eyes, she nodded, "Yeah. We're good." 

"Cool." 

"Thanks again." She said, and started to get out of the car. Getting all over her belongings from his car, she closed the passenger door, and made her way to the building's front door, but stopped. 

She turned around, and his car was still there. 

_ I wished he still wasn't there.  _ She thought

Against everything, she walked back down the steps, to the car, he rolled down the window. 

_ She knew she shouldn't do this.  _

"Would you like to come in?" The words fell out of her mouth faster than she could process it. 

_ He has a girlfriend, Beth.  _ She reprimanded herself. 

But once she realized what she said, thinking about taking it back, and looking down at her shoes, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, she heard, 

"Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "¿Vas a salir del coche? ¿O te sentarás aquí como un maldito acosador?" - "Are you going to get out of the car? Or will you sit here like a fucking stalker?"
> 
> "Hola a ti tambien, Mariah" - Hello to you too, Mariah
> 
> "¿Por qué estás aquí? Ayer molestaste a mi sobrino, eligiendo a tu puta por encima de él. ¡De Nuevo !" - "Why are you here? Yesterday you upset my nephew, choosing your whore over him. Again!"
> 
> "Sé que lo molesté. Por eso estoy aquí. ¿No puedo ir a ver a mi hijo? Y Dylan no es una puta." - "I know I upset him. That's why I'm here. Can't I go see my son? And Dylan isn't a whore."


	5. Possessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola, como estas? This is getting so fun, and i love it so much. This story is just.... *chef kiss* if I do say so myself. 😊Please enjoy!!

Waking up, Beth stared at the ceiling, trying her best to forget about last night. And while she did that, she tried her best NOT to run into Annie. It wasn't until she turned over, looking at the clock, which blinked red, 10:37 am. Beth knew she was safe. 

Annie was at school, and she could try to process the fact that she almost slept with her boss at 4 in the morning. No Judgement. No eyes, nothing. 

Releasing a breath, she threw back her covers and got up to make herself breakfast. This was the first step into a normal day. She knew she was being silly, but she peaked out of her bedroom door, making sure no one was in the living room. 

"Get ahold of yourself, Beth. Annie should be in 3rd period by now." She whispered to herself. Straightening her shirt, and with her head held high, walked into the kitchen but her dreams came to a slamming halt, when she saw Ruby leaning against the stove, drinking coffee, and Annie eating a bowl of cereal at the counter. 

Stopping in her tracks, looking between the two of them, Ruby just raised her eyebrow while drinking from her cup and Annie just smirked. 

“What are either of you doing here?” Beth crossed her arms, trying to get the attention off of herself, and more on the two of them. 

“Oh, you know why we’re here.” Annie chuckled at Beth’s embarrassment. Last night was funny enough, of course Ruby had to be here too to enjoy this. 

Beth rolled her eyes, “But did you have to call Ruby?” 

“  _ ‘Did you have to call Ruby?’”  _ Annie mocked her older sister, but then started laughing, 

“Of course I did. I called her last night when you didn’t come home. I had to update her on what happened.” She rolled her eyes, and went back to eating her cereal. 

“So, you gonna tell me why Rio Dominguez was in your apartment at 4 am?” Ruby quizzed, which Beth ignored the hell out of. Because, shit… She barely had an answer herself. She walked straight past Ruby and Annie, trying to make herself breakfast at the counter.

“Annie, why didn’t the school call when you didn’t show up for second period?” 

“They did. Your phone is still dead, so they called Ruby. Plus, my doctor’s appointment is today, I was gonna miss it anyways.” Beth could literally hear the sarcasm in her voice, but she’s learned to pick her battles when it’s come to Annie. 

Damn, she must’ve forgotten to plug up her phone when she went to bed.

“Hence, another reason why I’m here. B, your phone never dies. And where is your car? I didn’t see it in the lot” Ruby investigated, but Beth stayed tight lipped. 

“Are you gonna even explain last night?” Annie asked, 

Sighing, and popping her toast in the toaster, she turned around to face the music. 

Closing her eyes, “Nothing happened. The car broke down, he gave me a ride home. That’s it.” 

“That’s it?” They both asked, 

“Nuh uh, no way. That can’t be all.” Annie countered, making Beth snap her eyes open.

“He’s my boss, he’s in a relationship. Nothing happened.” She countered back. 

“Nothing happened?” Ruby asked, again. 

“NO! NOTHING HAPPENED!” Beth screamed, as her toast popped out of the toaster. 

“Sounds like something happened.” Ruby snickered before sipping her coffee. 

Beth rolled her eyes, and angrily grabbed the toast from the toaster - burning her fingers. Deciding to ignore the pain on her fingertips, she went to the fridge and grabbed the homemade marmalade, slamming the fridge door, and started to spread it over the bread. 

“B, don’t murder the damn toast, okay?” Ruby giggled at her best friend, who was acting extremely crazy right now, more than she normally would

It took Beth about an hour for Ruby and Annie to believe her when she said nothing happened. Just a favor between boss and subordinate…. But not that kind of favor. She had to basically yell that at Annie for a good twenty minutes. Thankfully, it was time for Annie’s doctor’s appointment, and Ruby had agreed to take them. Something to get their minds off of last night.

Beth made sure she had all of the questions she had written down for Annie’s doctor. She thanked the heavens everyday that Annie decided to do a C-section, and it was planned and scheduled, so Beth knew when to call off from work. 

She heard Ruby talking to Annie about her new boyfriend as she went over her list and triple checked that she had everything she needed. After the doctor’s appointment, Ruby was taking her to the car, they were calling Triple A to get a tow to Ruby’s uncle. He always fixed Beth’s car, and hardly charged what normal places would. He had already agreed to fix it so that Annie and Beth wouldn’t be without a car. 

_ Keys. Check. Pen. Check. List of questions. Check. Charger. Check. Checks. Check.  _

“Beth! Someone is here for you!!” Annie called from the living room, turning off the lights and closing her bedroom door. Beth curiously came to the front room, to find someone she had never seen before. 

Tall-ish, Dirty blond curly hair, with icy blue eyes. He couldn’t be over 16 or 17. 

“Yo, you Elizabeth?” He asked, pointing to her. 

Beth looked between Ruby and Annie, who looked back at her with the same shock on her face. Hell, no one except their grandmother called her Elizabeth, and Ruby and Annie knew that.

“It’s Beth actually.” She caught herself from being too rude, and extended her hand to him, “How may I help you.” 

“I’m Eddie. Rio sent me over.” He spoke, like that answered her entire question. 

“Rio?” She asked, 

“Yeah, he sent me over to drive you wherever you need to go, for as long as you need.” Eddie nodded his head, but he also looked confused. 

Beth’s mouth gaped open, “He did what?” 

“He gave you a personal driver…. Are you sure, you didn’t like…. Suck him off or anything?” Annie questioned. 

“Annie!!” Beth hissed, looking at her sister in disgust and shock…. At least have some decorum in front of a stranger! 

Eddie just cleared his throat. “He did say that he tried to call you, but you didn’t pick up.” 

No. Absolutely not. This was way too far. 

“I’m sorry you had to come all the way down here. But I don’t need a driver, my car will be fixed, I can catch the bus and right now, my best friend is driving me. So, tell Rio, thank you but no thank you.” She shook her head, with her arms crossed, 

“Let’s go guys,” She called out to Annie and Ruby, hoping to get around Rio’s “Eddie”, but he grabbed her arm. 

“Listen, if I don’t do what I’m told. I get into trouble. I’m just trying to do my job. I have no issue with driving a bunch of girls around all day.” 

Beth snatched her arm away, “I said no. I don’t need Rio to hire me a driver.” She tried to get by him again, but he wouldn’t let her. 

Frustrated, she huffed and stomped her foot, but that didn’t do anything to make him move “What is it going to take for you to move out of the way?” 

“You letting me do my job, Elizabeth.” He sighed, looking her dead in the eyes. Hearing her name on his lips like that, it made her cringe. She didn’t like it. 

Conceding, “Fine. But only call me Beth, Elizabeth is my great grandma.” She grumbled, and rolled her eyes, making Eddie smile and move out of the doorway. 

“After you ladies.” Eddie spoke to all three, allowing them to exit and lock up the apartment. 

Waddling down the stairs, Annie used Eddie to her advantage, and her support. 

“And she says nothing happened.” She mumbled, but loud enough for her older sister to hear. 

“NOTHING HAPPENED!” Beth, Ruby and Annie all screamed, once they got to the front door of the apartment building, irritating Beth, while Ruby and Annie laughed until Annie started to pee a little. 

* * *

_ "This is you." He stated, looking at the wear and tear on the outside of the building. She could tell that he was definitely judging the place. Internally, she rolled her eyes,, rich people. If she was okay living like this, why couldn't everyone else? Not everyone had a silver spoon in their mouths, and honestly Beth did her best, no matter the given situation. _

_ She nodded, and turned to look at him, "Thank you. You didn't have to bring me home."  _

_ After about a minute of staring in silence at one another, "No. I didn't but I wanted to."  _

_ She grunted, making a sound of understanding, but couldn't focus on anything really, except the plumpness of his lips.  _

_ Now, it was his turn to clear his throat, "We good, yeah?"  _

_ Bringing her eyes from his lips to his eyes, she nodded, "Yeah. We're good."  _

_ "Cool."  _

_ "Thanks again." She said, and started to get out of the car. Getting all over her belongings from his car, she closed the passenger door, and made her way to the building's front door, but stopped.  _

_ She turned around, and his car was still there.  _

_ I wished he still wasn't there. She thought _

_ Against everything, she walked back down the steps, to the car, he rolled down the window.  _

_ She knew she shouldn't do this.  _

_ "Would you like to come in?" The words fell out of her mouth faster than she could process it.  _

_ He has a girlfriend, Beth. She reprimanded herself.  _

_ But once she realized what she said, and tried to take it back, looking down at her shoes pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, she heard,  _

_ “Sure."  _

_ After slowly trekking up the stairs, neither of them said anything, but the thoughts in Beth’s head were probably even louder than her footsteps. _ __

_ Rio helped her carry the bags upstairs, and even held them while she opened the door. She dropped her keys twice because of how sweaty her palms were.  _

_ Sighing, she looked around at the mess that Annie had left in the living room, while taking the bags from Rio to set them down. Nervously, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and started to try to clean.  _

_ “Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to clean-“ She stopped herself, and gestured around the room. When he didn’t answer, she just continued to pick up the mess of her teenage sister. She needed some distance away from him, _

_ Throwing trash away behind the counter, “Can I get you something to eat?”  _

_ Rio shrugged, “Yeah, what you got?" _

_ She bit her lip, why would she ask a dumb question like that, knowing she barely had groceries for herself.  _

_ “Um, I could make you a sandwich,” She said, looking into the empty fridge.  _

_ “Yeah, I’m not really much of a sandwich guy.” Rio answered, studying her movements, and could easily see her frustration and slight embarrassment. For some reason unknown to him, he was intrigued by it all.  _

_ Turning to him, she chuckled, “I’m kinda out of bread anyway.” _

_ It was his turn to chuckle now, he smirked, and slowly moved towards her, making Beth move backwards. She needed distance.  _

_ “What am I doing here, Elizabeth?” He asked, staring at her. _

_ She truly did not have an answer, but before either of them could respond, Annie waddled out of her room.  _

_ “Where the hell have you been!!” Annie screeched.  _

_ Coming out of her thoughts, she blinked and looked at Annie. “I-uh. My- Um. My car broke down.”  _

_ “And you couldn’t think to call anyone! I called Ruby! Mrs. Johnson, hell I even called Greg to help me find you. Why are you all wet! You’re going to send me into early labor!” Annie stressed, while rubbing her stomach.  _

_ “My phone died.” Beth mumbled, still not fully in this conversation.  _

_ “YOUR PHONE DIED! How many times have you yelled at me, because my phone died. I was worried sick! I thought you were dead in a ditch or kidnapped or something!”  _

_ Rio cleared his throat, making Annie’s head snap to him, “Who are you?”  _

_ “Annie!” Beth hissed,  _

_ “I know you did not keep me up all night, in order to have a booty call Beth! It’s 4 in the morning!!”  _

_ Instantly, Beth turned a bright pink, from her hair and down her chest as far as Rio could tell. He wondered how far it actually went.  _

_ “Annie! This is my boss Rio. He drove me home!” Beth hissed again, she could feel her face was on fire and she desperately needed a cup of water, because the thought that she would have sex with him set her on fire even more.  _

_ With the seriousness on Rio’s face, and Beth’s embarrassment, Annie’s anger quickly disappeared.  _

_ “Oh.” She spoke softly, “But how am I supposed to know that! You didn’t call me.” Annie fired right back.  _

_ “I thought you were asleep, I didn’t want to bother you. I would’ve been home sooner if Dean actually was useful.”  _

_ Annie put her hand up before Beth could start another sentence, “Wait…. You called Dean. Dean Boland. Before you called me?”  _

_ “Annie, that’s not what I-“  _

_ “Unbelievable! You chose to call that jackass over me!” Annie huffed and waddled back to her room, slamming the door, startling Beth, and making Rio’s eyebrows pop up. Neither of the Marks sisters were paying him any attention. _

_ “So, who is the older one?” Rio joked, trying to keep his chuckles to himself, making Beth turn her bright blue eyes back to his dark brown ones.  _

_ She cleared her throat, “Sorry, I um- I didn’t expect her to be awake.”  _

_ Rio shrugged noncommittally, looking around the apartment, and started slowly moving to the mantel that held the pictures that Beth held dearly.  _

_ With his back turned to her, she could finally breathe and actually think.  _

_ Why did she invite him to the apartment? He probably thought she’s like every other girl he encounters - just wants his money- but she isn’t like that. He’s her boss, he has a girlfriend and apparently a child with said girlfriend.  _

_ “She’s not my girlfriend. Or my son’s mother.” He spoke, turning around to face her.  _

_ “Did I- just-“ Beth stuttered over her words, annoyed that she spoke her thoughts out loud, _

_ He gave a small smile before it disappeared, “Yeah, you kinda did.”  _

_ “Look I-“  _

_ “It’s late-“ _

_ Both of them started, but stopped when the other spoke, Rio gestured for her to speak first.  _

_ “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me. I don’t want your money, or um se- sex, I just, I truthfully don’t know why I invited you in. I just want to say thank you. For- For bringing me home. You’d probably do it for any of your employees, so again. I- Thanks.”  _

_ Rio didn’t answer right away, he just sort of analyzed her, “I wouldn’t do it for any one of my employees.” He spoke after awhile,  _

_ “Well, thank you anyways. I guess I will see you at work?” Beth trembled,  _

_ Rio went to open his mouth to speak, but his ringtone blared out. Irritated, he went in his left pocket of his jacket, pulled out a phone -but it wasn’t the same phone she used to call Dean- and answered, in Spanish.  _

_ “¿Qué? ¿Cómo diablos se estropeó el envío? Oscar estúpido. Estoy en camino, abrácelo hasta que llegue.” He spoke in a tone, Beth had never heard before. She could feel the heat pooling in her belly.  _

_ “I gotta go.” Rio spoke, placing the phone back into the left pocket.  _

_ “Okay. Thank you again.” She spoke, trying not to let her voice give her away.  _

_ “No problem, Elizabeth.” He said as he closed the door behind him. The door barely closed, before she collapsed on the counter.  _

_ No one had ever made her feel like this before. Not even Dean. But what shipment was he talking about? There wasn’t anyone named Oscar that worked at the club, plus all the shipments for Luxe came in on Wednesdays, it was Tuesday.  _

_ She couldn’t worry about it. She had to fix another problem, and the only thing that could fix it was in her nightstand drawer. _

* * *

“So, why did you call Eddie off of his post?” Rio heard Mick ask. Not really wanting to have this conversation, especially right now, he tried to keep it vague. 

He shrugged and mumbled, “Do I need a reason?” 

Rio was currently trying to play Operation with his son. He truly enjoyed the smile and laugh that was brought to Marcus’ face every time he purposely messed up. Thankfully, Dylan was upstairs, not bothering them. But here comes his best friend, bothering him. He tapped Marcus’ shoulder, telling him to go upstairs, that they’ll finish once he and Mick handle business. 

Once Marcus was out of earshot, “Yeah, you do. Especially when it involves me being right.” Mick smirked. 

Rio shrugged, making an excuse, “Eddie was close with Oscar, don’t want Eddie getting the same ideas. He needs to be humbled.” 

Mick rolled his eyes, “That’s not the reason why Eddie was pulled. Oscar was a dumbass, thinking he could steal from us. Eddie is pulled because you want to protect Beth.” 

“I’m just doing her a favor. No strings attached.” He instantly responded,

“Oh Mierda, hermano. What favor is that?” Mick propped his chin in his hand and looked to his friend, very intrigued.

Rio, over this conversation, pulled out his phone to make sure that everything was going as planned for the business. 

“Her car broke down, so Eddie is driving her and her kid sister around. I got Cisco to look at her piece of junk car and he fixed it. That’s it.”

“That’s it. So, buying a new car from Manuel doesn’t ring any bells?” Mick smirked, making Rio stop scrolling and look at Mick. 

“Manuel has a big mouth.” He scowled, making Mick laugh, 

“He’s my brother-in-law, what do you expect? Does Dylan know about your “favor”?” 

“It ain’t her business. I pay for everything.” Rio replied back, 

“Yeah, see, last time you said ‘It aint her business’ you ended up with a son and a baby mother, that wasn’t Dylan.” Mick mocked

“I saw her on the side of the road at Three in the morning, while it was pouring rain. What was I supposed to do? Leave her there?” 

“But that’s not all you did. Her car is being looked at by Cisco, and you bought a new one from Manuel. And You gave her Eddie.” Mick emphasized, “You give her a ride, and leave it be.” 

“Give who a ride?” Dylan asks coming down the stairs, 

Mick just laughed and shook his head, “Nothing, it’s just business.” 

But of course, Dylan didn’t fall for that, 

“Give who a ride, Rio?” She scowled and crossed her arms, Rio knew it was best to just ignore her because she’s had a nasty attitude since a few days ago. So that’s what he did. 

Without looking from his phone, “What did Mick just say? It’s business.” 

She scoffed, “If it has something to do with you, it is my business.” 

“Not in this case, D.” He quipped back. 

He could feel her eyes staring him down, but he wasn’t backing down. 

“I swear to God, Rio, if this is another  _ her  _ problem-“ 

“How about, instead of bringing up old shit, you do what you came downstairs to do.” Rio barked. 

Dylan stomped her foot, snatched her purse off of the counter and screamed a ‘Fuck you’ before slamming the front door. 

“I don’t understand why you still put up with that shit.” Mick laughed. 

Rio didn’t say anything, but couldn’t help but to think, neither could he. 

* * *

“Dad?” Marcus called out, as Rio was helping him get ready for bed. 

“Yeah, Pop?” His back was turned to his son, putting away clean clothes and straightening up his room. Something he picked up from his mother, that he passed to Marcus. 

“I have this project coming up, and it’s a family storybook.”

“Okay?” Rio responded, 

“I know stories about Mom from Abuela and Tia Riah, but I don’t know any from you.” 

He stopped putting away the clean clothes in his son’s dresser, and turned to face him. Marcus was avoiding looking directly at his father, and just stared at his dinosaur pajama pants. 

“You want me to tell you a story about your mom?” 

Marcus nervously looked up at him, nodding his head, “You- You don’t talk about her much. You don’t have to, I can ask Tia Rocky or Tio Matteo and Mick, or even Tia Jessa.” 

Sitting on his son’s bed, “What story do you want to hear?” 

Instantly, the smile Rio loved so much came out and Marcus brightened up. 

“Um, tell the story of when you first met!…. No no! Tell the story of when you guys found out about me…. No- Wait! Tell me the story when you found out you loved each other…. No! What was her favorite thing to do?” Marcus spewed out, not knowing where to start or end. 

“Pop, which one?” Rio laughed at his excitement, making him stop and slowly think about it

“When you found out you loved each other. Abuelita says that babies come from when Mommy and Daddy’s love each other.” Marcus spoke after a few minutes. 

“Well, what your abuelita said is true. But that doesn’t happen until you’re married and like 60.” He teased, 

“Dad are you 60?” 

Rio scoffed, tickling his son, while Marcus thrashed around giggling “God no, Marcus! I’m not.” 

“But, your mom and I dated in high school, I was her first boyfriend, but I’ve always been older than her.”

“Mom would be 33 right?” Marcus asked, 

“Yup, meaning I’m three years older than her, but once I graduated high school I broke up with her and we moved on, until she started working at the club where Tio Mick and I work. We quickly fell into old habits, but at first she didn’t trust me.” 

Marcus gasped, “She didn’t? Why?” 

“Well, cause I broke up with her all those years ago, I hurt her feelings. But I apologized, and-“ 

“You cleaned up your mess!” Marcus chimed in, making Rio laugh. 

“Yes, I cleaned up my mess. But I knew that I fell back in love with her when all I could think about was her, or I only wanted to spend time with your mom. Whether that was watching movies or taking naps or-“ 

“Kissing?” Marcus face turned sour and he shook his head of the thought, 

“Hey, am I telling the story? Or you, Pop?” 

“Sorry.” He giggled, 

“But, one day, it was like the heavens opened up during a dark and sad day, and light just shone on your mom, and that’s when I knew I loved her a lot. I got your Abuelita’s blessing and I was going to ask Mom to marry me, but then the mess I thought I cleaned up, just made a bigger mess, and I never got to ask her.”

“Did Mom love you?” Marcus asked, 

Rio smiled, “I would like to think so,”

“Did you really love Mom?” 

“Of course I did. She was one of my best friends and she gave me the greatest thing in this world, you.” He replied, kissing the top of his son’s head, making Marcus laugh. It was something Rhea did that Marcus always got a kick out of. 

“How much did you love Mom? Like as much as you love Abuela’s empanada’s?” 

Rio laughed, “More than I love her empanada’s” 

“Do you love Ms. Dylan like you love empanada’s?” He asked again. 

Rio’s smile slowly dropped, “Nah, Pop. That’s two completely different things.” 

Marcus sat up from laying on his dad’s leg, “Well, what’s different?” 

Chuckling, Rio responded, “Well, what’s different is, it’s past your bedtime and you have school in the morning. So, let’s get you in the bed.” 

Marcus groaned, pulling back the covers on his bed, and got settled. Wishing his son goodnight, Rio kissed his head, said evening prayers, turned off the lights, closed the door and went to his office to finish up work. 

Of course he couldn’t concentrate because all he could think about was Rhea, and one of the last encounters they had. 

> _ Panting and exhausted, she fell off of him onto the 1500 count thread Egyptian sheets he swore he needed her to have on the bed in the loft. Both of them were sweaty and sticky, but extremely satisfied, as Rhea had just ridden both herself and Rio to her fourth orgasm and his third of the night. _ __
> 
> _ “God, does it get any better?” She spoke, coming down from her high and chuckling, making them both laugh, but stopping once they heard Marcus stirring on his baby monitor.  _
> 
> _ With their breathing slowing down, Rio spoke, “Pop’s alright, there’s no need for you to worry, Mama.”  _
> 
> _ She rolled her eyes, still looking at the baby monitor, “No matter his age, he’s gonna always be my baby, Chris.”  _
> 
> _ “He’s two, and he’s going to Pre-school soon. He won’t be a baby forever.” He smiled, kissing her shoulder. _ __
> 
> _ She knew what he was trying to do, distract her, but before either of them could restart anything, his phone rang for the third time. She rolled her eyes, knowing it was Dylan calling.  _
> 
> _ “Don’t give me that look, Rhea.” Rio mumbled, as he sent off a text of why he couldn’t answer her call. Obviously he couldn’t tell her that he had just slept with his baby mother, again.  _
> 
> _ “I don’t get why you’re even with her, when you want to be here with us.” She quipped back, putting her shirt back on, and standing up from the bed. She should’ve known that this would happen, it always happened with him.  _
> 
> _ He comes over to visit Marcus, then they put Marcus to sleep, and end up fucking over and over again. It’s been the same shit going on four years now. And every time, Rhea’s left alone in bed, while he goes home to his girlfriend.  _
> 
> _ “I told you, I need more time.” He stressed, making her throw his shirt at his face,  _
> 
> _ “You said that three years ago before I got pregnant. And two years ago after I got pregnant. Last year. Last month.-“  _
> 
> _ Rio sighed, cutting her off, “I get it. I get it.”  _
> 
> _ “No. You don’t. I’m tired of being the other woman, when you pursued me, Christopher.” She deadpanned, and he sighed, knowing what was coming when she called him Christopher, _
> 
> _ “I’m tired of feeling like I’m the only one that has feelings. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Either want me or you don’t.”  _
> 
> _ “I want you. You know I do, I just need more time.”  _
> 
> _ “You have until next week, and until then, you’re only allowed over when Marcus is awake. I’m not giving you everything when you won’t even consider my feelings, or what Marcus feels when he wakes up to Daddy in Mommy’s bed.” _
> 
> _ “Rhea-“  _
> 
> _ “Go home to your girlfriend.” Rhea chuckled, trying not to let the tears fall. It didn’t matter because Rio could see them forming.  _
> 
> _ “She’s not my girlfriend.” They spoke at the same time, making Rhea huff out a hollow laugh,  _
> 
> _ “Just leave.” She said, pointing to the door.  _
> 
> __

__

Eddie gave constant updates on his job whether Rio wanted him to or not. Apparently, Elizabeth was a handful. 

> _ She declined Eddie’s offer to pay for her groceries, she literally complained all the time about him driving her, but she was nicer than anyone else Eddie had to deal with when it came to the business. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Annie and Eddie became quick friends, being that they were the same age. It had been a week by the time her car was finished, but Rio made sure that her newer car came at the same time.  _
> 
> _ It baffled Eddie. Beth didn’t cry from happiness, she didn’t squeal or jump for joy. She was angry, which made Annie laugh and waddle to their apartment from the parking lot. Plus, Eddie had heard through conversations that Mick gave her a raise too at the bar. Granted he hadn’t been around this that often, but he’d only known Rio to do these things for only one person, and that was Marcus’ mom. _ __
> 
> _ “What’s up with your sister? Rio is spending money on her, and helping her out, I know hundreds of girls that would drop at his feet for just even looking at him.” He whispered to Annie as she drank a sip of her juice by the counter. Beth was pacing in the living room.  _
> 
> _ Annie rolled her eyes, “She has this thing. She doesn’t trust anyone to take care of her. She trusted our parents to, as normal children should, and Dad left and Mom died, and then she trusted Shithead Dean too, and he cheated on her and basically put her nearly into bankruptcy. It’s toxic. But it doesn’t help that she wants to bone him.” Annie laughed.  _
> 
> _ “LANGUAGE ANNIE!” Beth yelled once she stopped pacing, and then went into her room, slamming the door.  _
> 
> _ “Yet, she didn’t deny it, and that’s the only thing she heard.” Annie laughed. _

Once Rio heard this report from Eddie, he knew it wouldn’t take long for Elizabeth to show up confronting him, which is why he wasn’t surprised when she dropped the keys off on his desk at the beginning of her next shift. 

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not something you can just buy” Elizabeth spoke, before turning around and reaching for the door. 

“No one is trying to buy you.” He spoke, without looking up from his computer. He saw that she stopped and turned around to look at him, 

“Then what are you doing?” 

“A favor.” 

“Thanks, but I don’t need any favors from you or anyone else. My friend's uncle was going to fix my car.” She snapped. 

“Clearly.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean!” She practically yelled, 

But when he didn’t respond, Elizabeth rushed over to the desk and slammed her hand on it. 

“You think you’re all that because you have money. I’d like to see you without it. I bet you, you wouldn’t last without that silver spoon in your mouth!” 

That made him turn away from the computer. He carefully looked at her, not giving much away, and leaned back into his chair, still watching her.

“I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I made all of this. Don’t make assumptions, because when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.” He spoke with authority and amusement in his voice. 

“You already fixed my car. I don’t need a new one!” She quipped back.

“Elizabeth, it’s a gift, and I’m not taking it back.” 

“Why not?” She closed her eyes frustrated, but it only entertained him.

“Because you need it.” 

“No, I don’t! My car works fine.” 

“Yeah, just like your apartment is in a safe neighborhood for a pregnant teenager.” He laughed sarcastically, which pissed her off even more.

“I’m not your gold-digging girlfriend. I don’t need you to do shit like this for me.” 

He was surprised she used that kind of language.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” They spoke at the same time. 

She scoffed, “Yeah, I know. You always say that, but whatever she is. I’m not her. I don’t need you thinking I’m a damsel in distress and that I can’t take care of myself or my sister and her daughter. I’m not a damsel and I can take care of us all, just fine. I don’t need your pity. And my apartment building is safe enough. No one would hurt Annie.” 

“No one said any of that. It’s something I didn’t need, and you did, so I’m giving it to you.

“Then sell it. I’m not accepting this car. It’s too much! I can’t drive a brand new car to work, everyone already thinks something is happening between us!” She yelled, but it only made him more entertained.

“That’s their problem, and it’s none of their business. It’s in your name, darlin’” He drawled, slightly smirking at her sudden boldness, but quickly let it go to finish, “You can do whatever you want with it. But I would be careful, cause you never know when you might actually need it again.” 

“I don’t need you buying me things or giving me things. I am an adult and I can do things on my own.” She gritted, crossing her arms. 

“ _ Elizabeth,” _ He warned, “How would you have felt if your raggedy rust bucket-“

“Daisy is NOT a rust bucket, she has character.” Beth defended. 

“Daisy, really?” 

When she didn’t respond, he continued, “How would you have felt if that dumbass ex of yours didn’t come get you, Daisy broke down and your kid sister went into labor? And you were stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no help or phone?” 

She didn’t have much to say about that, because she knew he was right. Biting her lip, she of course thought of a rebuttal.

“I can’t not repay you for the car, or fixing my car, taking me home, giving me a driver, it’s a lot. I don’t want to be in anyone’s debt.” 

He shrugged, “You’re not in my debt.” 

She rolled her eyes, something Rio was getting tired of, “Yeah, right.” 

He sighed, “Fine, you came in here hollering about your friend’s uncle was gonna fix the rust bucket.-“

She shot him a look, making him chuckle, 

“How were you gonna pay him to fix  _ “Daisy”  _ “. He threw up the air quotation marks for kicks.

“I usually fix him dinner, he loves my cooking.” She said without thinking about it. 

“Okay, fix me dinner.” He suggested, 

“Ha! What? No.” Beth shook her head in disbelief

“You came in here saying you wanna pay me back, and not be in my debt, so, this relieves you of that,” He explained, 

“No, no way. There has to be another way.” 

She could barely be alone with him for 5 minutes without undressing him with her eyes, let alone the sexual tension you could cut with a knife, and every time she heard his voice, she knew that by the end she would need new panties. 

There’s no way she could have this man over for dinner, and just... She hated the way he affected her. She felt like a woman possessed. 

“Nope. It’s either dinner, or work for 2 weeks for free.” He smiled devilishly. 

“Fine.” 

“Great. How’s Saturday.” He smiled, 

She shook her head, “Nope, how about Monday.” 

He pretended to check his calendar, with fake sadness, “Darn, I’m all booked Monday, darlin’. Friday?” He challenged. 

“Friday’s fine.” She deadpanned. 

“Great.”

“Great.” She picked up the keys and stalked to the office door

“Fantastic, Elizabeth. 8 o clock.” 

Little did she know, he was a man possessed too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¿Qué? ¿Cómo diablos salió mal el envío? Oscar idiota. Estoy en camino, abrácelo hasta que llegue.= "What? How the fuck did the shipment go wrong? Dumbass Oscar. I'm on my way, hold him until I get there."


End file.
